The Balance of Souls
by Gaereth
Summary: Naruto x Death Note crossover. Light and Ryuzaki are taken from their world to join the Yondaime at Konoha. But what's happened to the Kyuubi? Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1: Imbalance

Chapter 1: Imbalance

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or Death Note, much to my dismay.

_Italics_ Thoughts

**_Bold Italics_** Demonic Thoughts, primarily Kyuubi

"Regular Type´ Talking

**Bold Script** Demon talking, mainly Kyuubi.

On a monochromatic world, lost in the vast emptiness of the universe, dwell the Shinigami. These creatures, despite being responsible for the balance between Life and Death, have become lazy and complacent. They spend their time lounging about, playing games and gambling. Thus, the carefully maintained balance has become unpredictable, swaying back and forth. However, things would soon occur that would change that. For good or for ill, however, that can't be seen.

There is more to this world than meets the eye. Though few would think it, this is the central realm to this dimension. In this world meet the elements that create the balances. This is illustrated in the existence of the Shinigami themselves. Beings that bring death, yet also live life. It displays the perfect balance that can exist in a world. Of course, due to the general complacency of its inhabitants, it is no longer the balanced and neutral world it once was.

However, that was soon to be changed, and events would take place that would shape the course of history. For true balance is a tricky thing, and sometimes what should repair it, may often destroy it.

(Realm of the Shinigami)

"Yahoo! Two Death's heads! I win again!" said a short Shinigami holding a scythe. He began leaping up and down in delight, a comical sight to see, for he closely resembled a frog. His fellow gambler, a tall, lanky skeleton with bolts and screws all over his body, groaned loudly as he handed over the last of his cash. The toadish one cackled loudly in joy as he scooped up the precious stones that his opponent had relinquished, picking one up and holding it to his eye. "Pretty! I like these!" He turned around and, gazing through the jewel in rapture of its beauty, saw through it a figure he knew well. "Oi, Ryuk, wanna play? Dagtol here just lost big time! Why don't you try and win it off me?" The target of his comments rose slowly and turned towards the frog-like Death God.

"Nah, no thanks. Find someone else, Blikta." He waved at Bilkta and began walking off. Blikta blinked the large orbs that passed for eyes and looked closely at Ryuk. He turned to Dagtol and put a hand to his chin, scratching thoughtfully.

"Oi, Dag, ya think something's botherin' Ryuk? He aint been himself the past couple o' days..." His voice trailed off as he frowned in thought. Dagtol, not in the mood for conversation, just shrugged. Blikta glared at him for a moment, and then shrugged as well. He glanced down at the gambling setup they had on the ground. _Heh, _he thought to himself, _that dumbass never realized that I'm cheating! I love doing this! Nobody ever notices around here, they're all too damn lazy. Just goes to show, I guess._

He reached down and grabbed the 3 tiny skulls that served as dice and looked at his friend again. "Hey, wanna play another round? Double or nothing?" He repressed a chuckle at the last sentence as he said it. Dagtol merely shrugged and waved his hand at the seat Blikta had just vacated. Blikta cackled gleefully as he realized how much stuff he was getting out of this.

He was about to sit down to relax, until he saw a sight that chilled him to the core. He slowly reached down and tapped his skeletal companion on his bony shoulder, pointing into the distance. Dagtol rose slowly to his feet, seeing what his gambling partner had been pointing at. There, in the distance was a gray pillar of light, stretching out into the perpetual darkness of the Shinigami Realm.

"Dammit!" Blikta muttered softly to himself. "Why the hell is HE coming here? What does he want from us?" Dagtol said nothing, merely turned and ran off. Blikta started and stared after his departing friend for a moment, before shaking himself out of his daze and sprinting off after him, waving his scythe and shouting to him to wait up. For a moment, there was nothing moving in the small clearing they had just left.

Then, suddenly, the light pierced the ground in the middle of the clearing, shining with a brilliance unsurpassed by anything seen with mortal eyes. For a moment, it stayed there, like a monumental pillar. Then, it began growing thinner and shorter, shrinking down to a ball. This sank slowly into the ground and disappeared. A few seconds later, where the ball had just entered the ground, a figure emerged. At first, it was shining brightly, so brightly you couldn't make out more than the most basic details. Then, abruptly, the light disappeared. When it left, it revealed a man standing in a small crater, brushing dust off of his clothes.

He was a somewhat tall man, standing at about 6 feet in height, and wore a large straw hat, like samurai's often wear. Under it he had medium length grey hair that stood out wildly in all directions. He wore a dark blue trench coat with a strange silver design on the right sleeve. Under the open coat, he wore dark green cargo pants and a loose black undershirt. He also wore a basic pair of sandals which had obviously been used a lot, its wear and tear plainly visible. He bore a katana on his back, and around his left arm was wrapped a chain, acting as a sort of gauntlet or armguard. He looked like a relaxed but alert warrior, always on the lookout for trouble but at the same time confident in his ability to handle it.

He walked out of the small crater his arrival had formed, stretching his arms back behind his head, yawning. Then he grabbed his head and twisted it sharply to the left and right, accompanied by the sound of popping joints. He bent forward a couple of times, and then backwards, his face contorting in a grimace as his muscles groaned and creaked about the exercise. Standing up straight again, he glanced around the clearing he had landed in. His lip curled a little in distaste, and he muttered to himself "This place is just as boring and dead as the last time. Damn, doesn't anything ever change around here?"

His gaze fell upon the abandoned gambling set the two Shinigami had left behind, and an eyebrow rose. He bent down to the ground and picked up on of the small skulls, tossing it up and down in his hand. He chuckled as he tossed them back onto the ground and crushed them beneath his heel. "Heh, one of those morons was cheating. Weighted skulls. Gimme a break." He sighed loudly at the idiotic ways of the Shinigami as he turned and began walking away.

He continued walking, his face grimacing whenever one of his muscles cramped. _I really need to get that whole "hibernation" thing worked out. _He thought to himself. _Every time I wake up, I'm always so cramped! Ow, there goes my calf again. Damn, that hurts._ He hopped for a second on one leg, clutching at his cramping muscle for a moment of agony. Finally, when the cramp subsided, he resolved to do a little exercise. He crouched down slightly in a basic martial arts stance, tensing and relaxing his muscles. Then, he relaxed his arms and held them motionless at his sides. "This time will be just the legs, I think. They need it more than my arms. Besides, it's more challenging this way"

He stuck his hands into the pockets of his pants and paused for a moment. He closed his eyes slowly and took a deep breath. After holding the breath for 10 or so seconds, he let it out slowly. Repeating that cycle a few times, he finally reopened his eyes and tensed his legs in preparation for action. He switched stances several times, looking for one that would suit him. Each time, he would stay in the stance for several seconds, shake his head, and get in a different one. Finally, he adopted a loose stance meant for speed and agility above most other things.

He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, concentrating his chakra into his legs. Crouching down slightly, he leaped high into the air, performing several rising kicks and coming down with a downward sidekick. As he hit the ground, he crouched low to the dirt and swept his leg around in a circle close to the ground. Then he hopped backwards and performed a series of roundhouse kicks designed to cover distance and counter lateral movement. After his last kick, he rolled to the side and came up with a wild crescent kick, sweeping his leg high then low.

He paused then for a moment, catching his breath, then stood straight once more. "Ok, this time the arms!" saying this, he relaxed his tensed leg muscles and pulled his hands out if his pockets, preparing for another round of shadowboxing. Quickly he lunged forward, moving into a complex series of jabs, backhands and chops in a chaotic, yet fluid, fashion. Rolling backwards into a handstand, he pushed himself off the ground, flipped forwards and came down with both hands clenched together, a move obviously meant to crush an opponents skull. Landing on all fours, he jumped back into his fighting stance before leaping high into the air. As he came down, he focused a great deal of chakra into his left arm, which caused the chain wrapped around it to glow with a grayish aura. As he came down to the ground, he punched it solidly, releasing the pent up chakra at the precise moment of impact. This cause the ground to explode with force, creating a crater in the ground.

He breathed heavily for a moment, then stood up, shaking his left hand in an effort to relieve the pain of hitting the rocky ground. "I'm kinda disappointed in how this went." he muttered. His movements had been slow and sloppy compared to his normal level of fighting, and he was disappointed at his lack of balance. He had almost tripped over his own feet a few times. He sighed softly and shoved his hands deep into his pockets dejectedly, shuffling off in a random direction. _This level of fighting is just sad._ he thought to himself. _I guess I let myself go while I was asleep. And there I was, so confident in my abilities. I guess fighting isn't like learning to ride a bike. You practice or you die. Hey, that sounded pretty good. Polish that up a little and I'll write it in my book._ Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a small notebook from an inner pocket. He wrote his idea down in the book and put it back into his coat, craning his neck and looking out into the horizon as he did.

Time went on, and he continued walking and looking for something. Until, suddenly, he found what he had been seeking. Off in the distance, a great monument stood. He smirked in triumph as he sprinted towards it, stretching his legs out with each stride. He reached the construction in short order and stopped in front of it, gazing at its architecture. The great obelisk was built out of large black stones piled high into two tall pillars that stretched out several hundred feet into the sky. It was on a tall hill, but someone had constructed rock stairways that led up to it. It was capped with a simple stone slab made of a strange milky white solid, which seemed to flow and move slightly when you tried to focus your gaze on it. After feasting his eyes on it, he climbed the steep steps. When he got to the top of the stairs, he looked at it and smiled in recognition.

For, now that he had climbed up to the top of the staircase, he could see again why it had been built. The great monolith was merely a frame for a much more important device. There was a large disk suspended vertically in midair by chains, which were attached all along the pillars top and sides. The design of the disk was a basic Yin-Yang symbol, roughly outlined with a solid iron frame. He walked forward until he was right next to the disk, and gazed at it. It was large, maybe 15 feet in diameter, and quite thick. However, the most interesting thing about it was that the borders between Yin and Yang, normally firmly outlined into a perfect balance, were horribly skewed. He gasped harshly in astonishment and looked closer. The Yang symbol had taken nearly half of the Yin symbol's space, leaving the white side greatly weakened. He stepped back in horror and astonishment. The balance was all wrong! What had happened during his nap? He was supposed to keep the balance, but instead it had all gone wrong. _It's time for drastic measures._ He thought to himself.

He ran around to the side of the disk and grabbed the chains, breaking each one individually with a well-placed blast of grey energy. He broke all but three of the chains before stepping back in front of the disk. Reaching into the left sleeve of his coat, he took out a jet black throwing knife, about nine inches long, and thrust it into the white circle in the Yang space. Then, reaching into his right coat sleeve, he withdrew a duplicate of the other, except an ivory white. This he thrust deeply into the black circle on the opposite side of the disk. When both daggers were inserted, the chains on the sides of the disc broke and fell away.

That left only one chain, hanging from the very center of the slab that served as a ceiling for the monument. He backed up a couple of step and quickly grabbed his katana from his back, drawing it gracefully. He held the long blade in front of him for a second, before slashing it roughly across the palm of his left hand, drawing blood. He covered the edge of the blade thoroughly with it, and then slashed through the last chain in a single smooth motion. As the last chain broke, the disk flashed brightly for a moment, then subsided. Where before it had hung suspended, it now hovered by itself, defying gravity and remaining motionless.

Thrusting his katana deep into the rock, he stepped forward towards the disk. Now, as he gazed at it, he saw the two sides of it come to life, watched them battle each other constantly and endlessly. Normally, when he unsealed the portal, the area that each side gained was always equal to the amount lost. After all, light and dark should be in perfect balance at all times. He drew much of his power from that, in fact. But, something or someone had broken the endless cycle. And now, the dark was beginning to quell the light. That couldn't be allowed to happen. If either side ever destroyed the other, both would cease to exist. For how do you define light or darkness without something to compare it to?

He jumped towards the disk and roughly thrust his hand onto the middle of the disc, where the normal border between the two powers was located. Suddenly, all motion stopped on the disc, and it split in two equal halves. As the two halves of the disc dropped to the ground, the iron outline remained. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the iron outline began glowing a dull grey, and began filling itself with grey light. When the entire ring was filled with the dim energy, he raised his hand and shot a pulse of pale grey energy into it. It reacted instantly, swirling and eddying in response to his blast of power. He stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Show me the location of Imbalance Alpha, Priority Command G; Authorization Password: Ramen. Activate Search mode and determine number and location of any and all possible causes of the imbalance. Cross-reference with previous condition of Balance at last checkup." He chuckled a little at the password he had chosen, and then waited for a second. The command he had given should have the portal show him the world that the imbalance was in, and hopefully the reason why it was so imbalanced. He sat on the rough stone floor, and pulled out a gourd of sake. Pulling the cork out of the top, he took a sip of it. Setting the gourd back on the ground for a moment, he leaned his head back and gave a loud sigh of satisfaction. He was no alcoholic, but give him a sake and some ramen, and the world was his.

Ah, ramen. He remembered the first time he had some. It was back in that fun ninja place. "What was it called, I wonder. Meh, whatever, they had damn good noodles. Who woulda thought that a buncha muscleheads with no fashion sense could make something so damn tasty?" He chuckled to himself as he thought of it. Man, some of those ninja's had pretty crazy outfits. He remembered one man in particular, who had worn a bright pink kimono embroidered with sakura leaves. "Aw, man, that guy had some serious issues. Haha, it was funny to see him fight, though. Most of his enemies just ran screaming. Good times, good times."

He leaned back against one of the pillars and relaxed, knowing that he had time and to spare. It had never come up with any results in a time span shorter than 12 hours, since it had to sort through thousands of worlds to find the anomaly. He closed his eyes and relaxed, letting sweet, sweet sleep carry him away.

Or, at least, that was the plan. For, suddenly, the portal began shaking violently back and forth, as if trying to break free of the arch it was under. He jumped up quickly and grabbed the chain he had left wrapped around his arm. Tugging at the end closest to his wrist, he pulled it off his arm and set one end of it against a pillar. He held it there with his left arm as he laid his right hand on the chain and sent a pulse of power into it. As soon as the power hit the desired link, it molded with the pillar, merging with it so as to provide an unbreakable anchor.

Then he took the other end and ran around the portal in a full circle, wrapping the chain along it as he went. He took the end and, gathering up the slack, bound it in the same fashion as the first one to the same pillar. This would keep the portal sealed in place. After that was completed, he stepped in front of the portal to figure out what had happened. When he got into view of the front of the portal, he gasped in shock. There, portrayed in horrible detail within the solid iron ring, was a gigantic fox, with crimson fur and nine long tails that lashed back and forth.

For a moment he gazed at the demonic apparition, wondering why it was so familiar. "I know that thing. Giant fox… 9 tails… Aw, shit!" He yelled aloud. "The Kyuubi! I know what's going on! That's that shinobi place! I trained there once, a hundred or so years ago, in Fire Country. The Kyuubi's attacking again? That shouldn't have caused the imbalance, though. Portal, stop the search, and show me the area surrounding the Kyuubi, and analyze the Kyuubi's chakra levels. Cross-reference the results with readings taken by me 104 years ago. Report any differences in size or density of the Kyuubi or any significant increase in chakra capacity." The Portal zoomed out a little, showing the terrain the Kyuubi was in. "Shit, that's the Valley of the End! What the hell is it doing there? Portal, what are the results on that chakra info I asked for?" The portal turned gray, and then showed the desired information in a three-dimensional reference table.

He gazed at it intently for a moment before stepping back a pace in shock. "What the... Portal, double-check these findings and highlight any new information." But nothing about the chart changed. "No way. How did the Kyuubi's chakra levels rise so far? That makes no sense! It's a greater demon, but it shouldn't have grown this much in only 100 years. It's easily doubled in strength from the last time I saw it. Portal, show me the terrain surrounding the Kyuubi once more."

The Portal obliged, and he studied the Kyuubi carefully. "Interesting. It's in pain. That thrashing ain't normal. Something's hurtin' it. My guess'd be mentally, since physical wounds ain't a problem for the Kyuubi. Portal, display the time difference between us and that worlds time in a minute to minute ratio." The Portal was grey for a moment, and then displayed the information. It was a 1 minute to 3 minute difference. So, every 3 minutes that pass here is 1 minute in that world. "Portal, continue monitoring the Kyuubi's actions and notify me if there is a significant change in either the Kyuubi's actions or in the environment surrounding him." After giving his orders, he crossed back to his sake gourd and took a swig, pondering the question in his mind.

_What should I do? I can't directly intervene; I'd need a month's training before I'm strong enough to take on the Kyuubi again! Damn, why'd this have to happen now?! Makes no sense, right when I wake up and am helpless. How did the Kyuubi get that strong...? Well, I guess I don't have a choice. I'll have to restore the balance in that world by adding power to negate Kyuubi's added power and restore the balance. Hmm..._ He pulled out a folder from the depths of his coat and opened it, leafing though the contents with an intent look. After 5 minutes or so of looking into it, he came upon an individual who would be perfect for the job.

"Portal, ready new search. Continue watching the Kyuubi, but prepare a portal in World 2156. Name: Earth. Targeted Individual: The mastermind known as L. Use sequence 37 to portal him into the Limbo dimension. Once he's in Limbo, report back to me. That is all." The Portal began processing this new information, and he relaxed once more, content that help would soon be on the way. However, he would have to figure out a way to grant L power... Well, he could always simply lend him his power, wipe his memories, and then take him back.

'Course, he was gonna die back on Earth soon anyways. Well, might as well leave L there, then, and let him continue his life. But he would take back his power. Yeah, that was a good idea. He began leafing through the dossier once more, looking for the most powerful individual closest to the Kyuubi's area. His eyes fell on a specific file: Kazama Arashi, the Yondaime Hokage.

"Heh, the Fourth Fire Shadow, huh? Not a bad title. Well, then, since he's so powerful, he'll be there to back up L. Portal, Use sequence 37 again, this time in the village of Konoha, no, wait. The entire Fire Country. That ought to get his attention." the Portal grayed out once more, fulfilling the commands the master of the portal had laid down. The earthquakes had initiated. Looks like things were starting to work out.

He set the folder down on the ground next to him, yawning a bit as he did so. Grabbing his sake bottle, he took another swig and relaxed. "Now that things are in motion, maybe I can catch some sleep. It'll take a while before the Portal finishes with the commands, and I should have enough sake to last till then. Guess I'll do the training later, after this mess is cleaned up." He settled down for the long haul, keeping his eyes on the Portal.

"None of this makes any sense. I mean, the Kyuubi's been dormant for a hundred years, then comes back and starts having convulsions? What the hell, man? There's some serious shit going down there. Well, ain't nothing I can do 'til ol' Porty finishes up. Might as well get another bottle of this sake. Damn, this is good sake. Reminds me of that one time when…" Here he dozed off and he slid slowly down the walls surface until he lay on the floor. The folder in his coat slipped out and fell open on ground. If only he had been awake to look at it again, he would've noticed something rather odd about the page it was open to…

AN: Keep on reading., cuz this is only the beginning of what I hope will be a long and beautiful fanfic. Well, this is my first thing that I've actually posted, so this is very much an experimental phase for me. Especially since I never thought I'd do a crossover fanfic. But, don't worry, all I'm doing is taking the characters from one Anime and putting them into another. So, no worries, it's still Naruto. Just with a couple of guests. Anyways I'm trying to get through all this beginning stuff so I can get to the good stuff. Hope I didn't rush things in this first chappy. Don't forget to review! And don't hesitate to ask questions or comment on my work.

_Gaereth_

Preview of Chapter 2:

_He watched as the great crimson beast writhed in agony, its power rising higher and higher. He was stunned at the vast amount of power this thing was exuding, the sheer force of it pressing down on his body, making it difficult to recover from his exhaustion. The beast suddenly noticed him, and in its pain-filled growls there entered a note of anger and murderous intention. It got stronger the longer it went on, until it threatened to overwhelm him. In one long, pain-filled roar, it screamed out its hate of the world it found itself in. _


	2. Chapter 2: Corruption

Chapter 2: Corruption

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Death Note.

_Italics_ Thoughts

**_Bold Italics_** Demonic Thoughts, primarily Kyuubi

"Regular Type´ Talking

**Bold Script** Demon talking, mainly Kyuubi.

He walked through the open door, closing it behind him to keep out the chill of the night. Taking off his coat, he threw it onto a nearby chair and collapsed onto a bed with a loud thump. Sighing softly, he sat up in the bed and, clutching his head in one hand, glanced around the room, taking in every detail. He loved this room. Cramped and small though it was, it was his. Everything about it was his and his alone. It was his own private haven, a place of peace that was separated from the pressures and affairs of his position.

Leaning over to his right, he picked up a picture on a table next to him and gazed at it intently. He picked out every aspect of it, absorbing it into his memory. After a long pause, he set it down gently and sighed again. He didn't want this, but in a way, he knew it was for the best. His life hadn't been long, unlike his teacher's, and yeah he had regrets. But, all in all, he knew that this was what he had to do. Damned if he had to like it, though.

He got up off the bed and stretched out his arms, groaning as he felt the strain of the day in his muscles. He glanced at his alarm clock. 1:30 A.M. He looked at it in surprise for a moment, and then shook his head sadly. He didn't have much time. According to the rumors, the demon was almost ready to strike. He knew that when the damned thing finally did, it would be over for him.

As he thought that, he began feeling guilty. Was it wrong to want to live?

He flopped onto the bed again, putting his hands behind his head and stared at the roof of his small apartment. He knew that they were probably looking for him, but he didn't care. He wanted to be alone tonight. Tomorrow would come quick enough, and he wished to spend his remaining hours in relative peace. And... He couldn't go to the Hokage tower now. His son was there. His own son...

A tear leaked out of his eyes as he remembered. He had been so excited. He had been so happy. When he saw his son for the first time, crying his eyes out in that crib, it had been one of the happiest moments in his life. But, also one of the saddest ones. He hadn't been there for the birth. He hadn't been there to comfort his wife in her final hours. He wished he could have seen her beautiful face one last time before...

He groaned and softly beat the back of his head against his pillow. Kami, how he missed her. Was it really a week since she died? He couldn't believe it. It felt like yesterday. His head missed the pillow in one of its repetitions and slammed itself against the hard wooden floor. He cried aloud in pain, and hissed softly as he lightly touched the already swelling bump on his head. He gave a sad smile. Maybe the bump had done him some good. This was no time to get lost in the past, in a maze of his own guilt. He had been in the wrong. He should've been there for her when she needed him the most.

He thought back to how he had been so happy, and yet so sad. The sheer force of his emotions had driven him to the brink of hysterics. He felt fresh tears well up in his eyes as he thought of what he had missed. He blinked them away roughly. He was the Yondaime Hokage, for Kami's sake. He couldn't go around breaking ninja rules. People would get sarcastic at him, and that was the last thing he needed.

He scowled as he grimly recited to himself Ninja rule 25: A ninja must never cry or show his emotions. He grimaced anew at the harshness of the words, and made a point of bringing up these ninja rules with the 1st Hokage when he saw him in heaven. In heaven... He was going to die... A week ago, he would've gladly agreed to give his life for the village, not even looking for another way. But, then again, a week ago he had lost his wife, and was in no condition to make any sort of decision. But, though a man cannot decide how he is born, he can decide how he dies. And he would die with honor, if he had any say in it. He'd take that damn Kyuubi to the grave with him or would at least make sure that he could never bother anyone again.

He thought of the way he had found to take care of the Kyuubi once and for all. The Shiki Fuujin. He shuddered anew as he thought of it. When he signed that contract with the Shinigami, he couldn't turn back. It was either his soul, or both his and the Kyuubi's. Dammit, if he had to die, at least he wouldn't go out alone. He'd make sure that damn demon suffered for trying to attack his village.

He gathered his legs under him and launched himself of his bed, landing on the floor with no small amount of grace. He walked slowly over the full length mirror on the back of his door. He was by no means a narcissist, but that didn't mean he couldn't look good and still kick ass at the same time, right? After all, he loved showing people just how powerful he was, and if he could look cool while doing it that only made the fight even sweeter. However, right now he wasn't in the mood for kicking ass, and he barely looked alive, much less cool.

He stared wearily into his reflection in the mirror as he took into account the tolls the last week had taken on him. His eyes were hooded and bloodshot, a direct result of his present insomnia, and they had lost the sparkle they had once had. His hair, once proud and long, had been cut short after his wife's death, and had obviously not been washed for a while, either. He hadn't been eating, either, and it showed in the color of his skin. He ran a hand through his greasy hair, and moaned as he thought of the hell he had gone through.

After his wife's death, he had been working all day and training hard all night, never eating, never sleeping, not even taking a break. He hated doing it to his body, but every time he tried to stop himself, his wife's dead body would flash through his mind. He had chosen the lesser of two evils, and preferred to train nonstop, rather than thinking of his recent tragedy.

He gazed a while longer at the mirror, looking in particular at his clothes. A week ago, he would have been shocked at his present attire, but now he was too tired to care. He wore nothing more than a black T-shirt with a spiral on the front and some sweatpants. He was drenched in sweat, as he had just come back from another training period. "Heh, so much for the grand image of the Hokage. If ol' Sarutobi could only see me now, he'd throw a fit."

He turned to walk back to his bead when he caught a glimpse of something on his back, standing out white against the black cloth. He reached behind his back and removed the object, holding it by his fingertips as he read it. A smile began to form, which quickly spread into an ear-to-ear grin. Finally, he busted out laughing, clutching the sign to his chest as he doubled over in laughter. He held it again in front of him as he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.

The sign read, simply, "KICK ME!" and in the corner it held a chibi ninja with gray hair and a hitai-ate over one eye, holding up two fingers in a victory pose. He looked at it a while longer before tossing it onto the floor next to him. He jumped back onto his bed and stared at his ceiling once more, chuckling as he thought of his student. Kakashi had certainly had it rough, and recently there had been great losses to him. But, he hadn't lost his sense of humor, and he had realized that his former sensei required a swift kick in the pants to get over his depression.

The young Hokage chuckled again as he thought of what his student's expression must have been. _Kakashi is a good kid_, he thought to himself, _and he deserves a lot better than he's been getting. _He suddenly sat up in the bed, eyes wide open, as he realized what he had been doing. He should give his life for his village, he knew that. But he was trying to do it for the wrong reasons. Don't die for the dead, they don't need it. Die for the living. Die for the sake of those yet to come, not those who had already passed beyond the veil!

Kami, what had he been thinking? Yes, he'd take the damn fox to the grave with him, but not for his wife's sake. For Kakashi's sake. For Sarutobi's sake, the old monkey. For Jiraiya's sake, even though the old pervert would probably be too busy peeping on women to notice the Yondaime was gone. For the village, every one of them, despite their flaws and shortcomings. And, most important of all, for his son. For Kazama Naruto. Yes, he would do what had to be done.

He pushed himself off his bed and stood in front of his closet, taking one of his kunai out of a small holster next to his bed as he did so, and slashed a quick cut across his left hand, wincing a little at the pain. Taking his right hand, which was glowing blue with his chakra, he stuck his index finger into the flowing blood and drew a small, yet complex seal on the door of the closet with the crimson fluid. After completing this, he performed a simple string of hand seals. Tiger, Boar, Dragon, Rat, Ox, Ram.

After completing the Ram seal, he splayed his bloody left hand on the seal he had drawn before, and forced his chakra into it in a series of timed bursts. 2 quick bursts, a sustained 3 second stream, and a final half second blast. Taking his hand away, he saw the seal he had drawn before swirling towards its center and gathering. Gradually, it receded from the small area it was previously occupying, and disappeared. However, it left behind a small keyhole, glowing with a bright red light, sharply contrasting with the closets dark blue aura.

Backing away slowly from his now glowing closet, he took a scroll from inside his coat on the chair and opened it, streaking his blood across it. Along with the familiar puffs of smoke from a Kuchiyose came a tiny key. Taking this key, he covered it with his blood and inserted it into the small keyhole. He turned it halfway to the right, and then to the left a quarter of the way, then returned it to its original position.

After he withdrew the key, the keyhole disappeared, and the closet became a murky, bluish substance, constantly moving erratically and strangely, as if it was seeking to escape from its condition. He gagged theatrically at it, laughing a little at his dramatic performance, and stepped through the strangely gelatinous portal, shuddering as he felt it slither across his skin. After he passed completely through, it writhed into a flat position and reverted to its former wooden state. He shot an annoyed glare at the now non-descript closet door, grimacing as he recalled its strange movement. After a moment he shrugged it off and took a look around the darkly lit room.

The room, if it could be called that, was dark and cramped, more of a small storage closet than an actual room. It was maybe 5 feet in length, 6 feet in width, and stood all of 5 feet high. He sighed in exasperation at its lack of consideration for his 6' 1" height as he stooped down, bending his legs and hunching his back so as to be able to actually walk through the room. As he moved awkwardly towards the center of the room, his gaze fell on a seal that had been engraved on the floor.

The seal, set black against the brown wood of the floor, had a spiral as the centerpiece, with three lines of script surrounding it, overlapping each other so that there was no entry or exit. He stopped beside it, gazing for a moment at it. How something could be so simple, and at the same moment so utterly dangerous, was beyond him. That seal was the only thing between him and the legendary cursed scroll, the contract with Death itself.

He knelt down beside the seal and muttered softly to himself, eyes scanning every aspect of the seal. He grunted in satisfaction, and closed his eyes, concentrating his chakra into them. He formed the Ram seal, and whispered, "Doujutsu: Piercing Gaze." His eyes shot open, his majestic blue orbs shining with an ethereal green glow as he gazed at the seal intently. He could see the formation of the chakra in it, and the extreme complexity of the seal was staggering.

In no less than 7 places, the chakra flow doubled back onto itself, making it extremely hard to simply unseal it. He grunted softly in displeasure. This was gonna be complex, as he was going to have to do 7 different staged of the unsealing process. He groaned louder as he saw the particularly nasty way that the chakra flew in one section. The chakra was layered in 3 parts of it, and that meant that he would have to penetrate all the layers of it at the same time.

He stood up slowly, bending over to brush the dust off his sweatpants. He stood straight for a moment, and then was on the floor howling in pain. He had forgotten about the low roof, and the proud Hokage skull had been severely bruised. Clutching his skull, he cried out into the darkness "Why ME?!". Rubbing his now doubly bruised head, he stood slowly, this time making sure he was clear of the low ceiling.

He dispelled the Doujutsu he had activated, as he would need all of his concentration for this task. Yes, it would be harder now that he couldn't see the flow of the chakra within the seal, but, then again, he wasn't Hokage for nothing. He quickly formed the Ram, Bird and Tiger seals and focused his chakra into the air surrounding the seal, and said clearly "Genjutsu: Flowing Revelation."

He condensed his chakra into a circle on the floor around the seal, and quickly, a small transparent dome formed itself from the chakra, enclosing the seal entirely. Suddenly, it glowed a very pale blue, and an outline of the seal suddenly appeared, superimposed above the actual seal on the floor. It rose to the top of the transparent dome and, tilting itself slightly, began rotating. This allowed him to get a view of the seal from any angle, which would most definitely smooth out the procedure ahead.

He looked closely at his rotating model of the seal, noting that it accurately portrayed the flow of chakra throughout the seal. He nodded in satisfaction at a jutsu well done, and popped his knuckles. It was time to get to work, and, from the looks of it, this was gonna be a 12 hour job at least. Good timing, too, because according to the forward scouts, the Kyuubi would be at the village within 18 hours. Of course, it didn't help that he hadn't gotten any sleep for the past week. Even ninjas should get plenty of sleep, and he had stupidly denied himself that.

He shrugged at his own foolishness and sat Indian style in front of the seal. He would take down the Kyuubi, even if he had to walk hand in hand with Death itself. Which, if he thought about it, he pretty much would be after he unlocked this damn scroll. Damn the Shodaime Hokage and his thrice-cursed seals. They were a bitch to work out, and now he had to do this one in record time. He sighed one last time in dramatic exasperation. Then, his face suddenly changed to a look of utter determination. He would do it. He could not fail.

"Well," he said loudly, "Let's get this show on the road."

He began forming seals rapidly, going at a pace a jounin could barely follow, and his chakra began condensing around him. Soon, as he formed his seals, it seemed that he was some kind of angelic being, with an aura of blueish white surrounding him as if it was a holy barrier. But, then again, most angels don't wear sweatpants and a T-shirt.

He shook his head in displeasure at his "sluggish" speed and began going faster and faster, doing 8 to 10 seals within a seconds time. Luckily for him, it was the same 7 seals repeated over and over; otherwise this process would be taking much longer than it would have. But, because each repetition of the sequence required a slightly different chakra flow, he had to constantly manipulate his chakra, filling that part of the seal, leaving that part alone until later. And if he messed up even once, he knew that he would have to begin all over again from scratch. _Still, no pressure, eh?_ He thought to himself. _Besides, it's the same damn seals over and over. I couldn't mess this up if I tried. What could go wrong?_

Suddenly, the floor shook violently, and he was shaken out of his sitting position into a sprawl on the floor. Picking himself up, he shot his glance around the room, wondering what the hell was going on. The ground continued to shake more and more violently, and he was clueless as to the reason why. Suddenly, his face went pale as he thought of the worst possible scenario. _Could it be that the Kyuubi is already attacking the village? How many has it killed? How many of my men has it crushed already?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!_

He leaped up from his position on the floor and, quickly dispelling his Genjutsu, ran quickly over to the doorway. He stopped for a second, remembering that he had sealed the door behind him when he walked in. It wouldn't open without another sample of his DNA, preferably a liquid. Blood was traditional, but he was in a hurry, so he simply spat on the door. The portal once more became the membrane he so hated and he leapt through quickly before it resealed itself.

Grabbing his coat from his room, he dashed out of his apartment and out into the street. He leaped quickly onto a nearby rooftop and scanned the horizon. _Thank Kami_, he thought to himself, _that damn fox is nowhere in sight_. Suddenly, the tiled roof he had been standing on began coming apart, due to the tremendous force the earthquake was now bringing to bear on the village. Cursing loudly, he sped off over the rooftops in the direction of the Hokage tower.

He arrived there quickly, having put his tremendous speed to good use, and was glad to see Hyuuga Toshi already there waiting for him, along with several members of his ANBU division. He landed in front of his ANBU captain, giving a quick command.

"Report. What is the situation?" Toshi, who already had his Byakugan activated, saluted his Hokage.

"The entire village is suffering from this earthquake, Hokage-sama. Further details currently unavailable. Possible attack by enemy forces, supposed to be Iwagakure." The Hokage looked at him sharply when he made his final remark. He wondered if it was just Toshi's paranoia concerning Iwagakure that had spawned that last comment.

Toshi, despite being the prodigy of the Hyuuga branch family, and captain of the Protection branch of the ANBU Black Ops, had his faults. One of these is a habit to blame half of the things that had gone wrong on the Tsuchikage, and had recommended at each meeting of the ANBU that the Hokage declare war on Iwagakure. He faced his subordinate squarely, looking him straight in the eyes.

"What are the odds of this being an attack from enemy ninjas, and what are the odds of this being just a localized phenomenon?" Toshi looked down slightly at that, but knew better than to even bend the truth in front of his Hokage.

"The percentage probability of an enemy invasion, 5 or less. Percentage probability of a localized phenomenon, 50." The Yondaime nodded in appreciation of Toshi's efforts to not let his paranoia get in the way of the village's safety, but did a double-take on hearing the latter portion of his subordinate's statement.

"Only a 50 probability? Well, if it isn't just an earthquake, then what the hell is it?" Toshi shook his head silently. The Yondiame took this with quite a bit of surprise. Could this be a result of the Kyuubi's imminent approach? Or was it really just an earthquake? He didn't know, but he had a bad feeling about the entire thing. He summoned his chakra to him and sent it deep into the ground, investigating the possible cause of the earthquake. Or rather, he tried. His chakra was thrust back violently.

He tried again, but the same thing happened. He investigated the ground carefully with his chakra, and felt some foreign force within it. Not exactly chakra, but not exactly anything else he could identify. Yeah, he had a REALLY bad feeling about this. This wasn't any usual earthquake, that much was for sure.

Suddenly, a Chuunin ran out of the Hokage tower, yelling towards the Hokage. "Hokage-sama! Our border scouts just back! They say that something's happening to the Kyuubi!" The 4th turned sharply towards the Chuunin, and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"What?! Are you sure? There was no mistake in the reports?" The Chuunin shook his head dumbly, slightly awed by the force of the Hokage's anger and concern. The Yondaime turned around rapidly, motioning towards Toshi.

"Captain Hyuuga Toshi, I hereby pronounce you temporary commander of all the shinobi in this village until my return. If I do not return within 24 hours, presume that I am dead. Do not, repeat, do NOT send any shinobi out after me. Is that understood, Captain?" Toshi saluted sharply.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" The 4th nodded his satisfaction of Toshi's reply and turned away, facing the city gates. He closed his eyes as he formed a basic chakra-molding seal, gathering his chakra into himself, focusing it on his leg muscles and eyes especially. Suddenly, his eyes shot open, glowing brightly as he stared at the gates.

"Shunshin no Jutsu!" He roared out, in a voice heard clearly above the noise and shaking of the earthquake. He suddenly disappeared in a bright yellow flash of light. Toshi stared at the spot the Hokage had, until recently, occupied. _Amazing_, he thought to himself, _that's the 3rd time I've seen it, and each time was more amazing than the last. Truly, he is Konoha's Yellow Flash: Kazama Arashi._

The said Hokage was currently far away from Konoha, and gaining speed. He moved faster, ever faster, sprinting towards the border between Fire Country and Wind Country, not knowing what he would find there, but determined to find out. Whenever he came to any kind of obstacle, such as rivers or villages, he would stop for a moment and use his Shunshin no Jutsu to almost instantaneously teleport him past them.

He was beginning to tire, however. He had used quite a bit of chakra into trying to unseal the scroll of Shiki Fuujin, but had been interrupted by that damn earthquake. Add onto that his lack of sleep and nutrition, and you get one tired Arashi. He pushed himself, though, harder than he had for a long time. Yes, he would be in no condition to fight the Kyuubi if it was there, and he had no way of what exactly was going on out there, but he had to know. If something had happened to the Kyuubi, if he didn't have to die... He had to find out. He must find out.

(15 minutes or so later)

The earthquake only grew in its strength, and he was tiring fast. He had almost been hit by that tree that had fallen back there. But, he was almost there. Another minute and he would reach his goal. Suddenly, he was overcome by a wash of evil chakra, and fell to his knees, struggling to breathe. _This Chakra... It has an evil feel to it. Could it be the Kyuubi?_ He thought to himself, dreading what the answer might be.

He had hoped that the demon might have lost control of its power of something, or had begun fighting with some other demon. But, instead, it felt stronger than ever. _What the hell is going on here? This thing wasn't this strong last time I saw it. It's undergone some major change. What happened?_ All this ran through his head at breakneck speeds as he struggled to dispel the chakra that surrounded him, tried to get its defiling touch away from him. But, no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't do it. It was simply too strong, too dense, too utterly _evil_ to repel in his weakened state.

He thought of the village, of those he had sworn to protect. _I have failed you…_ he thought to himself. _I couldn't fight the demon, he's just too strong. The village; what will they do without me? It's hopeless. Kakashi… Oji-san… Ero-sensei… I'm so sorry… _

As he bowed his head in defeat, he suddenly remembered his son. His little newborn baby son. His little Naruto. Suddenly, chakra poured from his body, as he tapped a reservoir he didn't even know he had. He poured it into one, last powerful Shunshin, and vanished in a blaze of Golden light. He made it all the way to the Valley of the End. He landed on the head of the statue of the Shodaime Hokage, stumbling and tripping over his tired feet. Finally, he fell to one knee, breathing in harsh gasps as he gazed across the water at the apparition that waited there.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune, the 9-tailed demon fox, the ruler of the Fox clan of demons, and one of the greatest demons to ever live, was just across the river. As he looked at his immortal adversary, he was suddenly stunned by its beauty, its incredible power, and its demonic chakra. _It has easily twice the chakra it had before. By Kami, what IS this thing?_ _Aw, shit. Its power is still growing!_

He watched as the great crimson beast writhed in agony, its power rising higher and higher. He was stunned at the vast amount of power this thing was exuding, the sheer force of it pressing down on his body, making it difficult to recover from his exhaustion. The beast suddenly noticed him, and in its pain-filled growls there entered a note of anger and murderous intention. It got stronger the longer it went on, until it threatened to overwhelm him. In one long, pain-filled roar, it screamed out its hate of the world it found itself in.

**_STOP IT!_** He reeled back and fell onto his ass, gazing in amazement at the demon. _What the hell was that? Could it have been?..._ The demon lurched forward a little, never breaking its gaze. **_YOU! STOP THE PAIN! MAKE IT GO AWAY!_** It thrashed its tails wildly, destroying the forest on his side of the waterfall. Its eye's opened wide in agony, and it gnashed its gigantic teeth together in fury.

Arashi couldn't believe what was happening. The baka Kitsune, the damned demon that was the cause of so many deaths, was asking for help? _What the hell is going on? Why would he be in this pain? Maybe it's the- **SILENCE! **_He clutched his head in his hands, the tremendous mental scream of the demon tearing any coherent thought apart. **_YOU WILL STOP IT! I WILL NOT BE USED IN THIS WAY! DESTROY IT! NOW!_**

He tried to piece together the shredded remains of his train of thought, thinking about what this could possibly mean. Maybe the demon was reading his thoughts. _CAN YOU HEAR ME? _He mentally shouted, wanting to see if he was correct. **_FOOL! IDIOT HUMAN! DON"T ASK STUPID QUESTIONS! DESTROY IT, NOW, BEFORE ITS TOO LATE! _**The fox's retort was cut off by a roar of pain, and the fox's eyelids, began to droop.

_What do you mean? Destroy what? What the HELL are you talking about, you damn fox! Talk straight, dammit! Or I- **IMPUDENCE! I WILL DESTROY YOU! YOU AND THIS WORLD SHALL DIE! **_The fox's eyes slammed open, but where strangely different. Whereas before its eyes were a crimson red, now they had darkened to the color of dried blood, and the slit pupil had disappeared, replaced by a diamond-shaped grey pupil, which seemed to pulsate as his chakra flow rose and fell. These new eyes bored into his own azure orbs, and he felt the tremendous power and murderous intent behind the stare.

Something had happened to the Kyuubi, he realized. It felt like almost a different creature entirely, its fire was steadily turning from a rich red to a much darker color, the same color of his eyes. He was receiving the full rage and malice of this strange demon, its edge honed and sharpened by pain, and all of it focused at him. He realized then that it was hopeless. He was going to die, and he couldn't save his village, save his student, or... save his son.

The revelation hit hard, and his mind was already fatigued. Suddenly, it couldn't take the pressure and began shutting down. He fell from his kneeling position hard onto his back, gazing up into the early morning skies. He realized that he had pushed himself over his limit, and regretted it immensely. But that was the least of his regrets, by far. He collapsed entirely and fell onto his face. His body began rolling down the side of the statue's head, and he fell down towards the running river below. As his vision faded into nothingness, and his vision was swallowed by a sea of grey, he had one final thought. He, Kazama Arashi, had failed.

AN: I wonder how many of you guys see where I'm going with this. Kyuubi will be a main character, as will the 4th. By the way, to anybody who knows fluent Japanese: if you could email me, that'd be great. My E-mail is on my profile, whoever's interested.

Please review! Don't hesitate to ask questions or give comments!

_Gaereth_

Preview of Chapter 3:

_He jumped off the bed once more, wrestling with his thoughts as he tried to figure out what he must do now. He didn't know what would happen now. He didn't know whether or not Ryuzaki had enough suspicion to condemn him as Kira once and for all. But, more importantly, he didn't know whether he wanted to continue being Kira or not. He felt drained, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. He was tired. So very tired._


	3. Chapter 3: Summoned

Chapter 3: Summoned

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Death Note.

_Italics_ Thoughts

**_Bold Italics_** Demonic Thoughts, primarily Kyuubi

"Regular Type´ Talking

**Bold Script** Demon talking, mainly Kyuubi.

He sat down in his expensive armchair, groaning as his fatigued legs took the weight of his body once more. It hurt to sit like this after such a long day, but he needed to think clearly. If he sat any other way, he just couldn't think as well. He reached out his hands toward the desk in front of him, grabbed a small box of chocolates and peered at it intensely. It was indeed chocolate, and his favorite kind, too.

He allowed himself a small smile, and he gazed in entranced wonder for a moment at the miracle that is sugar. Then, using his teeth, he ripped open the top of the package, thus allowing easy access to the sugary goodness within. He set it back down on the desktop and took one, pinching it lightly between thumb and forefinger. Gazing at it for a moment, he shrugged and popped it into his mouth. As his taste buds rejoiced at the sensation, his mind flew into a flurry of activity, touching on this topic and that subject, before finally settling itself onto the chosen train of thought.

He swallowed his chocolate, grimacing slightly in agitation about his brain's ill choice. He never got a break, did he? The last thing he wanted to think about was that damned Kira case, not when he had a box of his favorite snacks in front of him, and a possible evening to himself. Yet, he had sworn to bring the perpetrator of the mass serial murder case to justice, had he not? He had always kept his word, and prided himself on that quality.

But this case was killing him; he could feel it deep down. He felt it wearing away at the root of his foundations, the rock pillar of his intellect beginning to crumble and decay. He couldn't think as clearly, and he was letting fear for his life cloud his judgment. He snatched a second chocolate and munched on it thoughtfully. He didn't want to think about it. He was tired of the constant worry, the incessant suspicions and the never-ending chase.

And, more than anything, he was tired of being so afraid. Afraid for his life, afraid for his sanity, afraid that he wasn't smart enough, or clever enough, or simply didn't know enough to catch the killer. And, most of all, he was afraid that he might be right. That his only real friend might be a mass murderer. Afraid that he might have to send his friend to an execution. He wanted so desperately to be wrong, to have misconstrued his evidence, to have wasted all this time investigating him…

But, no. That wasn't how L, the great detective, should think. He should think of nothing but the chase, and focus his mind on it, wholly and completely. He couldn't let such a thing as friendship get in the way of Justice… Could he? Weren't friendship and mercy the things that made life worth living? Isn't it not only right to save the life of a friend, but the human thing to do? In delivering his friend to the gallows, was he condemning the human aspects of his own soul to death along with him?

But, no, that couldn't be. Kira has killed thousands, and taken it upon himself to judge mankind. Men should not be judged by other men, for they both are imperfect. But, who, then, will judge? Will there be any judge? Is it not better to have a faulty judge than to have no judge at all? What if Kira is simply fulfilling a divine will? What if Kira was a messenger of a god? What if he was God?

He shook his head sharply, driving the thoughts from his head. He couldn't think like that. All along in this case, he had assumed that Kira was a human, acting alone according to some perverse sense of duty or justice. This killer had to be stopped at all costs. He reached down towards the desk and, shuddering slightly, he picked up the notebook that lay there.

The Death Note. The killer notebook that was responsible for this entire mess. It couldn't be allowed to exist any longer. It was an instrument of death, and nothing but misfortune could come from it. And, yet, even though he knew that this was the cause of the murders, his mind wanted to reject the idea. So much as a week ago, if he had been asked about the possible existence of Shinigami, he would have denied it flatly and completely. But now, to find that not only do Shinigami exist, but that they can affect the Human world in such a way as this? It was unsettling, to say the least.

He flipped open the notebook and glanced at the inside cover. He began thinking to himself _The rules. Those damned rules that proved so damn confusing. And the Shinigami hadn't helped things either. What was its name? Rin… Ren… Rem? Yeah, that was it._ _Dropping something as ridiculous as a notebook into my lap, and expecting me to believe it without cause?_ He shook his head in disgust. Surely the fact that not only did Higuchi confirms that the Death Note was the cause of the deaths, but had actually demonstrated it. Of course, he couldn't have known that it was a fake name, but, despite that fact, he firmly believed that the notebook was, indeed, the way to kill. And the appearance of the Shinigami had only proved his point. A pity he died before any more information could be gathered from him.

But if the Death Note had formerly belonged to Light, and had somehow found its way into Higuchi's hands, that could be how it happened. But, then, why isn't that mentioned in the rules? And why would Light give himself up as a Kira suspect if he knew he would die in 13 days? That rule makes no sense, but the Shinigami claims that all the rules are true, and that all notebooks have the same rules. Then, was the Shinigami lying? Could it be that Kira was somehow making it lie? Or was it telling the truth, and he had been wrong all along?

He groaned loudly and clutched at his head with his right hand. This was getting him nowhere, and he needed some more sugar quickly. He had long since finished the chocolates, and he was getting tired. Picking up a small silver bell with his left hand, he rang it three times, setting it down sharply on the last ring. Shortly, an elderly gentleman walked through the doorway of the room, striding up to the chair in which he sat.

"What do you require, Ryuzaki?" The gentleman asked him politely, bowing slightly.

"Tea, if you would, Watari." Ryuzaki said softly

"Of course, Ryuzaki." Watari replied, bowing again as he turned to leave. Suddenly, Ryuzaki started violently, jumped off his chair, and cast his gaze frantically across the room, scanning for something.

"Wait, Watari! Where's the sugar bowl?" Watari turned around again and looked at his young master warily.

"The sugar bowl, Ryuzaki? I took that back to the kitchen before we left. It was empty." Ryuzaki glared at him in a mixture of depression, rage, and absolute hopelessness.

"You expect me to drink tea without sugar? What kind of monster are you, Watari? Don't you realize what that means?!" He stalked toward Watari, getting angrier and louder with each word he spoke.

"You want me to drink my tea without sugar? Why not expect the lion to sleep with the lamb? Why not expect the sun to rise in the west and set in the east? Why not expect the damn sun to implode, rather than expect me to drink my fucking tea without any bloody sugar! WHERE'S THE GODDAMN SUGAR, WATARI!?"

Watari backed away quickly, waving his hands in front of him frantically. He was always terrified of Ryuzaki when he was deprived of sugar. God, he hoped there wouldn't be a repeat of the last time. If only that candy store had been open… He tried to placate his young charge.

"It's alright, Ryuzaki, I know. Don't worry, I sent Matsuda-san to go get more sugar, I'm sure he'll be back soon. So why don't you just sit back do-"

"NO, DAMMIT! I WILL NOT SIT DOWN! I'VE BEEN UP A FULL WEEK STRAIGHT NOW, AND IF I DON"T GET MY DAMN TEA, SOMEONE'S GONNA DIE! IS THAT PERFECTLY, 100, CRYSTAL CLEAR!?!? I WA-"Here he was broken off by Watari, who took advantage of his employer's flapping jaws to toss in a chocolate covered caffeine pill into his mouth. Ryuzaki's mouth shut like a steel trap as his tongue recognized the taste of precious sugar. And caffeine, to boot. Suddenly, Ryuzaki's taste buds were in heaven, and he collapsed into his chair with an expression of bliss on his face. He was, once again, at peace with himself.

Watari let out a breath he hadn't even been aware of holding, and relaxed, understanding that his master was now in a much better place, but he would probably be back soon, and that the sugar better be ready before then. He hurried off to the kitchens to find his phone, and get Matsuda to get his sorry ass in gear.

A tall, lean figure rushed into the kitchen, dropping a bag he was carrying on the floor as he ran. He glanced around the kitchen for a moment, and then ran off into the hall, obviously on the lookout for something. As he went through the doorway, he ran into Watari, who was trying to find his cell phone.

"There you are!" Watari exclaimed in considerable relief. He wasn't quite sure how long that caffeine pill would hold Ryuzaki off. He looked at the man, asking "Where's the sugar?" The man, who was Touta Matsuda, pointed his thumb in the direction of the dropped bag while trying to catch his breath.

"What's the big hurry, Watari?" He asked wheezily. "You said you needed this sugar ASAP, right? Man, that was a long run!" He set his hands on his knees and panted loudly. Watari proceeded to inspect the sugar and put it into the sugar bowl.

"Why did you not simply drive your car to the corner store, instead of running? Wouldn't it be faster, Matsuda-san?" He asked curiously. Matsuda grinned sheepishly, patting his pockets as he explained.

"I lost my keys. I think I might have lost 'em in the TV studio when we set that trap for Higuchi, but I'm not sure. Either way, they're probably long gone by now, huh?" Watari nodded his agreement, but only half-heartedly as he was preoccupied with taking the sugar cubes out of their container and into the sugar bowl. He filled it to the brim and beyond, and turned to the steaming kettle he had left on the stove. Taking several large teabags, he put them all in a teapot and poured the hot water into it. Matsuda stared in amazement, and turned to Watari, wondering aloud as he did so.

"Isn't that a little much? I mean, that's gonna be strong tea, huh?" Watari turned to look at the steaming pot, along with its dissolving teabags, and shook his head softly.

"If Ryuzaki's tea isn't made exactly like this, Matsuda-san, the repercussions could be dire. I remember that one time at the tea shop… Ah, never mind that story is not one for the faint of heart, Matsuda-san." Matsuda nodded sagely for a moment, before reviewing the conversation mentally and realizing he was the butt of a joke.

"HEY! Don't treat me like I'm a kid!" Watari chuckled for a moment as he withdrew the smoking remnants of the teabags, and grabbed a cup and saucer from a nearby cabinet. Putting them onto a platter, along with the teapot, he deftly balanced it on his hand and walked swiftly out of the room, determined to deliver the life-giving brew to Ryuzaki at the earliest possible moment. The last thing he needed was an annoyed genius thinking up ways to take his frustration out on others. Matsuda followed him down the hall, wondering at Watari's remarkable speed for such an old geezer. As Watari reached the room that Ryuzaki had currently ensconced himself in, he heard moaning from within.

"Oh, God. He's starting to snap out of it. There's not much time left!" Watari murmured softly, dread starting to show in his eyes as his imagination ran through possible repercussions to Ryuzaki's lack of caffeine/sugar. Opening the door swiftly, he rushed inside and laid the platter down carefully on the desktop in front of Ryuzaki. Just as he set it down, Ryuzaki's eyes suddenly focused on him. His hand reached out and grabbed Watari's shirt sleeve.

He pulled Watari closer and muttered softly, so that Watari could barely hear him. "Do you have it?" Watari patted the hand that clutched his arm and, gently but firmly, guided it to the handle of the teapot. Ryuzaki's eye's snapped wide open, and his nostrils flared as he recognized the smell of caffeine. And, unless his eyes deceived him, there was the elusive sugar bowl, just within reach, and full to the brim of delicious, precious sugar. He wept aloud in joy as he shakily poured himself a cupful of the brew and began dumping piles of the sugar cubes into it. Watari grabbed the amazed Matsuda's shoulder and guided him out of the room, closing the door with a quiet _click_. Matsuda's mouth opened and closed several times before he was able to force himself to speak. He turned to Watari and, completely dumbfounded, asked the obvious question.

"What the hell was that all about?" Watari sighed and motioned him to a room across the hall, where they both sat in comfortable armchairs. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, and began explaining to Matsuda.

"Well, Matsuda-san, Ryuzaki has always been a firm believer in the innate intelligence of the human being, and believed that a man should always be thinking, so that he may hone his mental skills to their maximum. As time passed, he believed that sleep was highly overrated, and took away precious hours of ones life, with which one might instead be doing much more useful things."

"Like reading books and stuff?" Matsuda interjected rudely. Watari glared at him a moment before replying.

"Indeed. That among other things. Well, to get back to what I was saying."

"Ryuzaki then began to seek ways to avoid sleep. He tried everything, but claimed that the only things that really worked for him were caffeine and sugar. For, you see, Ryuzaki is naturally very lazy, and he is always tired, so he couldn't simply force himself to stay up, not without doing permanent damage to his mental processes. So, instead, he began relying on caffeine and sugar. When he has these artificial stimulants, he claims that they increase his thought processing speed by a full 60, and that he requires them to get through the day. I've discovered that he has been using these for so long, that he is almost an entirely different personality when he goes without for too long. The time that he can go without sugar or caffeine without the change in personality is seemingly random, possibly dependant on the average consumption over the previous week or month. Ryuzaki, when given sugar and caffeine in plentiful supply, is truly a genius, and a prodigy. However…"

Matsuda leaned in closer to Watari, obviously caught up in the tale. _Finally, I'm learning something about L! I knew that I would get told stuff eventually! _ Watari gazed at him with a raised eyebrow for a couple of seconds, as if he had heard what Matsuda had thought. The young man straightened quickly and motioned to Watari to continue.

Watari chuckled lightly under his breath , and then continued his story. "You see, the repressed personality that has developed over the past 10 years is surely smarter and stronger than he. For, you see, he firmly believes in the necessity of self-control. He always tries to make sure that he never goes overboard, or says something that he can never take back. That is one of the reasons he takes great pains to be polite and proper with you all. However, his other ego is not such, and thinks and fights without restraint. Ryuzaki knows this, and is frightened about it. It is probably not a good idea to tell the others, Matsuda-san. They, especially Aizawa-san, are already having doubts about Ryuzaki's sanity."

Matsuda leaned towards Watari, his face unusually serious and whispered "And is he sane? Is he still capable of carrying on the case? Or should that burden fall to another?"

Watari gazed at him intently for a moment, gauging his sincerity. He then sighed, and shook his head. "He is sane, for now. I cannot promise anything for the future, though. The way he has been driving himself has him dangerously close to the edge, and the last thing I want to happen is to have him fall over it, because if he does, and the other Ryuzaki becomes the dominate personality, then Kira will take 2nd place on our list of priorities, especially now that Ryuzaki has the Death Note." He reached out a hand and set in on Matsuda' shoulder, and grinned comfortingly. "I have faith in Ryuzaki, but I worry for him. Watch after him, will you?"

Matsuda nodded and got up to leave. But, as he reached the door, Watari spoke once more. "Matsuda, no matter what you do, do not tell Yagami-kun. Understood?" Matsuda turned towards the old man and nodded, grinned brightly and extended a thumbs up towards him, shouting loudly while posing.

"You can count on me, Watari! I won't tell a soul!" After saluting Watari comically, he began walking back to his own room to catch some Z's. Watari chuckled slightly at the young man's antics, and then subsided as he pondered the riddle that was Kira._ Can Ryuzaki solve this puzzle? Or will it be the death of him? Only time would tell… _He rose from the chair and walked slowly to his own quarters to sleep. _Sleep… The great healer… Maybe things would be better in the morning…_

However, that was not to be. For as he reached his quarters, a mighty shudder went through the building. He paused for a moment, wondering what could possibly be happening. When it happened a second time, he realized that it was not his imagination. The building was actually shaking in its foundations. He cursed softly, thinking of how disastrous an earthquake might be in a big building like this.

He turned back and ran back to find Ryuzaki, but, when he reached the room, Ryuzaki was nowhere to be found. He assumed then that Ryuzaki had headed downstairs to try and get out of the building before it collapsed, and decided to do likewise. On his way down, he gathered the other members of the task force and took them with him. When the made it outside onto the main grounds of the building, they couldn't see Ryuzaki or Light anywhere.

They collectively turned their eyes to the trembling building, and then realized that, even though the earthquake was getting stronger, it was only under the building that it was doing so. They gazed at each other in amazement at the phenomenon, and then turned their eyes back to the building, hoping against hope that the 2 geniuses would make it out alive.

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However, during Watari's brilliant maneuvering and deft handling of Ryuzaki, along with the tale he told to Matsuda, another man was stirring. He lay restless in his bed, pondering past deeds, present dilemmas and future decisions.

He sat up straight in his bed, clutching his sheets convulsively. Through his mind, troubled thoughts flickered here and there, destroying any chance he had of sleep. He clutched his hands to his head, and moaned softly. Was there to be no peace for him that night? How much longer must his otherwise perfect mind continue to taunt and torment him?

He thrust his sheets aside and pivoted on his bed, sitting on the side of it while gazing at the window across the room. He cupped his head in his right hand while his left sought out his shoes from the foot of the bed. He had gotten into bed fully clothed, not bothering to remove so much as his jacket. He leaped into his bed and crawled beneath the sheets, cocooning himself within their soft embrace. His hand finally found the sandals he had been looking for, and he roughly shoved them onto his feet and stood up.

Rubbing his temples with the palm of his hands, he crossed the room to the door and opened it, striding down the hall to the kitchen. When he got to the kitchen, he stepped over to the fridge and investigated the innards. He needed something to drink, but couldn't find anything other than iced tea. Aggravated, he slammed the door slightly and walked over to the sink, pulling a clean cup out of a cabinet and filling it with tap water. Sipping at it, he left the kitchen and crossed back to his room. As he opened it, he noticed Matsuda and Watari emerging from Ryuzaki's room and crossing the hall into the living room for that floor.

Shrugging it off, he reentered his quarters and took a huge gulp of his water, wiping a trickle of spilled water off his chin. He felt somewhat refreshed now, but it would be some time before he could even think of sleep. He slipped off his sandals and shuffled over to his desk, flopping into it and turning on the desk light. Pulling open a drawer, he withdrew a notebook from within and shut the drawer.

He held the notebook up to the desktop light, gazing at it for a moment. Then he set it on his desk and opened it to the first page. He gazed for a moment as he looked at it. This notebook was Ryuzaki's, and it contained detailed information about the first 6-7 months of his investigation. He flipped through the pages, scanning each page. As he did so, he noticed that Ryuzaki had a habit of heavily underlining anything that he considered to be of import to the case, and writing in capitals any personal thoughts he had on it.

He was looking for the capital words now, finding two or three to a page. Each one he read only gave him a worse and worse feeling. His heart ached as he saw Ryuzaki's utter disdain for Kira, the mass serial murder. He read about how Ryuzaki thought that man had no right to judge man, and that innocence and guilt were not to be determined by any other man. He grabbed the notebook and flung it from him, grasping his head in his hands.

His mind was ablaze with questions. _What if I was wrong? What if Ryuzaki was right? Does that mean everything I've done, every judgment that I made was wrong as well? Is he right in saying that man must not judge another man? I killed so many, and for what? I sentenced so many to the fires of hell, but why? Was I just thinking that I could do it out of some delusion of my own importance? Is it not far more important to simply do right oneself, than to condemn those that do not do right?_

He shook his head roughly, willing the thoughts and questions away. _No, I must not think that way. I CANNOT think that way. I was certain in my path, certain that I must destroy the evil of this world so that the good may flourish. What I did, the people I judged, the innocents that I saved, all of it was for a good purpose. It was done for the good of the world! This Earth is a garden, and I am its gardener. I shall pluck out the weeds so that the good plants may grow. And, God help me, I'll crush any who stand in my way! _

_However, what is a gardener without his tools? What am I without the Death Note? I can't judge anyone like this. Ryuzaki has it and I can't allow him to continue investigating in this manner. I', sure he'll find that the fake rules don't make sense, and I KNOW that he already suspects me. I must get it back, it's the only way._

He paced back and forth across his room, his mind racing. _Did I leave any tracks? Any evidence that would point to my identity as Kira? No, I don't think so. I should be covered. Higuchi is gone, and I don't need to worry about Misa, she's out of the picture. So, why am I so frightened?_ He stopped pacing for a moment, and then crossed over to the window that looked out onto the city. _I am Yagami Light. I am Kira. Or, am I?_

He shook his head roughly, startled at how his brain was working. _Of course I'm Kira; I'm going to cleanse this world. As the unrighteous sinners die, the world becomes a better place to live. I'm doing this for the good of mankind! My mission must continue! But... Why?_ He rested his head against the window, gazing down the side of the tall building in which he had residence. He wasn't sure about anything anymore. How could he have gone from so certain to so confused?

After all the time he had spent working on the case with Ryuzaki, he didn't know if he was really doing the right thing anymore. He hoped that he was, but he couldn't know. He walked slowly over to the bed in the corner of the room and sat on it, holding his head in his hands. He thought to himself chaotically, his thoughts careening back and forth in his mind like some strange tennis match.

_What is wrong with me? What's happening to me? I feel... I feel like 2 people. One of them is Yagami Light, college student at Todoh Academy, the smartest college student in Japan. But, then, there's the other me. Kira, the mass murderer, the savior of the innocent, the slaughterer of the guilty. He who holds the scales of Justice in one hand, and the sword of Retribution in his other. But, which one was Light? Before he had gotten the Death Note, he had been Yagami Light. After he obtained the notebook, though, he became Kira. A second personality taking up residence in the same body. _

_No, this isn't like a second personality; it's much more like having 2 souls fighting for possession over one body. After I gave up the Death Note, I relinquished half of myself, the Kira half. And, now, after my soul has had time to heal and become one as Yagami Light, I suddenly find the Kira soul thrust upon me. I feel... torn. Like I don't really exist anymore, it's just something that has taken over my body. Right now, I control my body, but as time goes on, will Yagami Light die to make way for Kira? Do I want that to happen? Do I?_

He jumped off the bed once more, wrestling with his thoughts as he tried to figure out what he must do now. He didn't know what would happen now. He didn't know whether or not Ryuzaki had enough suspicion to condemn him as Kira once and for all. But, more importantly, he didn't know whether he wanted to continue being Kira or not. He felt drained, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. He was tired. So very tired.

What if he went back to being Kira? Would he be forced to kill Ryuzaki? Would he have to silence his only friend forever? Sure, he had acquaintances, people that had met at college, and, of course, Misa. But, Ryuzaki understood him. No, it wasn't that. He didn't understand him as much as they thought alike. It was like they were 2 sides of the same coin. So, as Kira, he would be forced to kill his only friend, but as Yagami Light, he could not purify the world, and make it a clean place to live in once more. He flopped himself onto a small metal chair in the corner of the room, leaning back into it and crossing his legs. His mind began to calm itself, to think clearly once more.

_I will repent. I have killed, and I would, no doubt, kill again. So, I must relinquish control of the Death Note once more, and this time, I will never reclaim it. I want no more to do with the damn thing. Now, I just need to find Rem, and I can give it back. Maybe, Rem'll take it away, back to the Shinigami realm. That would be for the best, I think._ He rose from the hard metal seat and exited the room, looking for Ryuzaki.

But, suddenly, there was a great shaking in the building. He collapsed and fell against one of the walls, wondering what was happening. Another shake made the building shudder, and the steel girders that supported it groaned under the stress. He recovered his balance somewhat and careened haphazardly down the hallway, looking for Ryuzaki. They had to get out of here now, before the building collapsed. Because if he was right, and this was an earthquake, then the building might not last much longer.

He lurched down the hallway, fighting to maintain his balance, and looked for Ryuzaki, calling his name in desperation. Suddenly, a door opened and slammed into Light, stunning him and giving him a massive headache. He glared at the door before realizing that the perpetrator was not the door, but was Ryuzaki himself, blinking and looking confused at the sudden appearance of a human right when he opened the door to get out.

He grabbed Light's upraised hand and helped him up off the floor. Quickly, they ran as fast as they could to the stairwell. They began going down the stairs when a steel girder fell and smashed down into the downwards staircase. They looked at each other in mutual horror, and then realized that there were helicopters on the roof.

They climbed up the stairs as fast as they could, Ryuzaki going just a bit faster because of his unusually strong legs. When they reached the top, they looked around the rooftop in horror. The tremendous shaking of the rooftop had caused one of their helicopters to break free of its bindings and fall on its side. It had seriously damaged the main propeller, and was definitely unable to fly. The second chopper was in better shape, was unfortunately, the first choppers crash had caused to fall back on its backside, breaking the back propeller beyond immediate repair.

Light and Ryuzaki looked at each other for a moment, studying each other one final time, before the climbed onto the top of the building. They looked down the 26 stories that separated them and the ground, and then, after a slight hesitation, jumped. After all, it was better than the alternative. They fell faster, and faster until it seemed their vision was filled with grey. The last thing they remembered was thinking one thought.

_It wasn't supposed to end this way..._

AN: That will be the only chapter written from the Death Note anime. From now on, it'll be Light and Ryuzaki in the glorious world of Naruto. I'll be writing from multiple perspectives, and I'll try to make it clear when I switch. Again, please review and comment. Questions are also welcome, and will be answered either by email or in my author's notes.

Gaereth

Preview of Chapter 4:

He raised his hands and clasped them together in a clenched fist. Suddenly, Ryuzaki's body exploded into white-hot agony. Every muscle, bone, and nerve cried out in pain, protesting this invasion. With what little strength he had left, he turned his head to look at Light. Strangely, Light seemed oddly at peace, as if the pain didn't bother him at all. _What is he? How can he…_the thought faded as yet another jolt of pain ripped it's way through his body. He could feel his body dying, organs and muscles being broken down. The pain behind his eyes was immense, and he thought they would burst into flames before the end. He knew that he would die.


	4. Chapter 4: Empowered

Chapter 4: Empowered

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Death Note.

_Italics_ Thoughts

**_Bold Italics_** Demonic Thoughts, primarily Kyuubi

"Regular Type´ Talking

**Bold Script** Demon talking, mainly Kyuubi.

(Arashi's POV)

He opened his eyes, blinking groggily at his surroundings. For some reason, he was lying prostrate in midair. He glanced around the area, and was surprised by what he saw. Apparently, he was in the middle of a great expanse of grey, stretching out in all directions. It was weird, but what was even weirder was the fact that he felt weightless. He flailed about with his arms and legs for a moment, and was rewarded with his body moving into a sort of chaotic spin.

In one of his revolutions, he suddenly noticed two others in a similar condition, minus the spinning, not ten yards away. They seemed asleep or unconscious, and he tried to check on them. But every movement he made only made his spinning wilder and more difficult to control. _I got no clue what's going on, _he thought to himself, _but it's really annoying. Even though I'm weightless, the air is still here, which means that manipulating the flow of the air currents should work. Maybe if I can use a wind jutsu, I'll be able to maneuver. But how can I control the air…_

He thought for a moment, then suddenly came up with an idea. _I can use the Rasengan! Or, rather, the same principle. If I'm using my chakra to manipulate the air currents in a small space, why can't I do it on a larger scale? It'll be a lot weaker, but all I need is to get myself moving. Physics should handle the rest. _He closed his eyes, concentrating, waiting for just the right moment, Because of his spin, it was difficult to time it correctly, and he didn't want to end up going the wrong way.

Suddenly, his eyes flashed open, and he spread out his arms to either side. Swiftly, he sent tendrils of his chakra into the surround atmosphere, spinning the air about him clockwise to reverse his counter-clockwise spin and hopefully negate his motion. And, sure enough, shortly afterwards he began to slow and eventually, thanks to some fine chakra control, spin to a stop facing the two he had seen before.

_Now, all I've got to do is manipulate the air so that it spins behind me; that should propel me forward. _Taking his left hand, he put it behind his back and formed an incomplete Rasengan, using the rotating winds to power and steer his movement. Soon, he was near them, and he held a hand in front of him and formed another incomplete Rasengan. Then, it was simply a matter of achieving equal power between the 2 Rasengans then letting them fade at the same rate.

Using every ounce of chakra control Ero-sensei had drilled into him, he managed to bring himself to a full stop a couple of feet away from the two unconscious forms. He took a moment to examine them. They were both somewhat tall, but there the similarities seemed to end. The one on the left had light brown hair, with aristocratic features and a semi-muscular build, whereas the one on the right had wild black hair, with huge bags under his eyes and a scrawny physique. They were both dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans,.

He formed a few hand seals before coming to a stop on Dog. "Ninjutsu: Awakening Touch." His hands began glowing with a green light, and he touched the tips of his index fingers to their forwards, forcibly bringing them back to consciousness. _I hate to do it, since this ain't exactly the healthiest jutsu in the scroll, but I don't have time to just sit around and wait for 'em._

Within a few seconds, their eyes opened and in unison they blinked their eyes and glanced around sleepily. The black haired one seemed more alert, and he glanced around him for a moment before his eyes came to rest on Arashi. The brown haired one was too busy clutching his head in pain to do much else. The black haired one examined him closely before seeming to come to a decision.

"Where are we, and who are you?" Arashi was a little stunned at the accusing tone of voice the teenager had used. After all, it's not like HE did anything.

"Well, that's a nice tone of voice to take with the guy who wants to help ya. And, FYI, I don't have a clue where we are." He shook his head at the kid's apparent dissatisfaction with his statement. "So, anyways, my names Arashi. Kazama Arashi. And you are?"

"Ryuzaki. Just Ryuzaki, mind you. And my companion is Yagami Light. Now, are you sure that you don't know where we are?" Arashi shook his head.

"I don't have a clue. Sorry, gaki, but the last thing I remember is falling down that damn cliff." Ryuzaki's abnormally wide eyes narrowed for a bit in thought.

"Strange, the last thing I remember is falling, as well. Except from a building, not a cliff. Coincidence?" Arashi shrugged, not at all thinking about how they got there. Rather, his thoughts were entirely devoted to finding a way out. Well, almost entirely. There was one thing that was bugging him.

"What the hell is wrong with your buddy? He looks like he's sick or something." Ryuzaki frowned at this, and turned towards Light. However, before he could say anything, there was a great gray flash, and they had to turn their eyes away from it. When the glare died down, they heard a voice.

"No, he's not sick. At least, not in the way you're thinking of." A man with a blue coat and a straw hat began walking towards them, despite the lack of gravity. Arashi's suspicions kicked into high gear, especially when he saw that the man was armed and was holding his straw hat down over his face. _That's no ordinary man. He's got the bearing of a warrior. Strange… I can't fell his chakra levels._

"And what do you know about it?" asked Arashi, putting his two new friends behind him protectively. "You saying you know something? Spit it out, then." The man stopped walking about 5 feet away and lifted his hat, raising a hand into the air.

"Nah, I didn't do anything. Y'know, it seems like I can't do anything right these days. First the portal is all messed up, and now I got two helpers where I only wanted one. Well, I guess it's too late to do anything about it. Still, it's kinda troubleso-" he was cut off by Light, who screamed out in agony. Ryuzaki stared at him in concern, and Arashi snarled at the newcomer.

"If you know what's going on, then spit it out. I didn't become a ninja to listen your monologue." The man removed his hat, revealing an unruly mop of silver hair. He scratched his head, plainly embarrassed.

"Ah, my bad. Ok, it's a long story," He said evasively. However, he soon spoke up again after seeing Arashi's expression. "Um, what I meant to say is, let me summarize it for ya. Ok, Arashi, can I call ya Arashi? Thanks. Anyways, your world is getting attacked by the Kyuubi, right? But there's something weird about it. Well, something caused the balance of your world to tip. Ain't sure what it was, but something happened. So I was gonna drag in L here, that's Ryuzaki, FYI, to help you out. Dunno what went wrong, but that damn portal messed up, and now we got two of 'em. Well, there ya have it!" He performed a little theatrical bow, and cupped his hand to his ear, sarcastically expecting an applause for his "narration".

(Ryuzaki's POV)

He watched the odd man's antics, but only half-heartedly. The main focus at the moment was to figure out what exactly his little speech meant. _"Kyuubi"? "portal"? I can understand portal, but what the hell is "Kyuubi" supposed to mean? Well, even if you go by the literal meaning, Nine-Tails, it still doesn't make any sense. And he speaks of It as if it's alive. Is it a name for some kind of creature? I can't know without more data._

"That's all well and good," he cried, "But that didn't tell us anything about Light-kun's condition. Please explain yourself thoroughly and completely. Do not withhold any facts, please." The man gave him a strange look, and a peculiar expression flashed across his features, before he spoke up.

"Not withhold any facts? Why, that would make life so boring, don't you think? But, fear not. I shall tell you about your friends condition. You see, it shouldn't have been possible for him to go through the portal. However, I've had a chance to examine his mental processes and his thought structure, never you mind how, and I can see from here that his mind is built much like your's, little Ryuu-kun." Here Ryuzaki interrupted, in a fit of rage.

"I will thank you not to address me in such a fashion. I warn you, I am quite strong. After all, once is once, baka-ojisan." The stranger chuckled for a moment, raising his hand to his heart as if struck by a sword.

"Well played, oh mighty L-sama! Never again shall I attempt to match my mental blade to yours! However, amusing as this is, we have work to do." The stranger pulled out his katana and thrust it into the air in front of him. He released it and it remained motionless in midair. However, stranger still than that was the hole it seemed to create in the place they floated within. Where the sword pierced the air, at the very tip of it a rift had been opened, white and black flashes shooting periodically from the small hole.

The stranger put on his hat once more, and a frown of distaste marred his features. "Unfortunately, now comes the nasty bit of business. I must give you the power that will allow such mere mortals as you to defeat the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune. However, before I can do that, I have to create suitable means of containing the power. Your bodies could not handle it as they are. Therefore, I will have to give you a chakra system. Now, this might sting a bit."

He raised his hands and clasped them together in a clenched fist. Suddenly, Ryuzaki's body exploded into white-hot agony. Every muscle, bone, and nerve cried out in pain, protesting this invasion. With what little strength he had left, he turned his head to look at Light. Strangely, Light seemed oddly at peace, as if the pain didn't bother him at all. _What is he? How can he…_the thought faded as yet another jolt of pain ripped it's way through his body. He could feel his body dying, organs and muscles being broken down. The pain behind his eyes was immense, and he thought they would burst into flames before the end. He knew that he would die.

But then, suddenly, he felt life enter him once more. He felt the cells that had been broken down before being rebuilt, the muscles knit together once more, the organs redesigned and better. He felt like he was stronger than ever, and he felt power running through his body. The pain began fading away, but before it was gone completely, a great explosion of pain tore through his eyes, causing him to scream for the first time. He could see nothing, at first, but then the pain abruptly vanished and became nothing but a dull ache.

He opened his eyes cautiously, tears trickling down his face as his eyes wept out their pain. He finally forced his eyes open all the way and stared out into the empty grey expanse. His first thought was for his friend, and he swept his head around and looked closely at Light. Light seemed alright for the most part, but was holding his hands in front of them, staring at them closely.

(Light's POV)

The pain had stopped. He remembered vividly how it had felt, though. His mind had been ripped apart and sewn together again in the worst way imaginable. There had been slight pain in his body, as well, but that was nothing compared to the torment that his mind had undergone. He shuddered anew as he thought of the feeling of it, of the utter sense of loss he had suffered.

But, then the pain had passed. His mind was whole once more, and felt better than before. Far better, in fact, and the pain that had haunted him recently was no more. Just before the pain had left entirely, there was a sharp, searing pain in his hands, and ha had nearly screamed at the intense fire of it. Before long, however, the pain had faded, and he looked down at his hand, gazing in bewilderment at it. He saw the blood trickling down from the tips of his fingers, and he felt the throb of the pain still lingering. He brought them close to his face and gazed at them in awe.

There was something truly wondrous about this new feeling, though. His body felt revitalized. He had been quite strong before, and quick as well, but now there was something else. He realized that there were more changes than just in his body, his mind had changed as well. He thought much clearer now, and could observe and deduce with twice the efficiency that he could before. In fact, now that he looked upon his past actions as Kira, he was filled with disgust. _Could I have truly thought that I was righteous? How could I have possibly done such atrocities?_

He shook his head to clear it, then glanced over at his friend. _Strange, did I just call Ryuzaki my friend? Heh, this is the first time I've actually considered him a friend. It feels… Good. I'm glad that I have a friend._ He looked Ryuzaki up and down, checking for any injuries that might have happened. Suddenly, he noticed something very strange.

"Hey, Ryuzaki, what the hell happened to your eyes? You feeling alright?" Ryuzaki looked startled for a moment, before asking what he was talking about. Light replied "Um, they're not black anymore. They've turned into a shade of… yellow, I think. Almost a gold, but too bright. What happened?"

Ryuzaki was plainly surprised by his comment, and he looked desperately for a mirror to look in. Due to the lack of a mirror, he seemed upset, but got over it quickly. Light turned to the man who had done this and looked at him curiously. He remembered Ryuzaki arguing about something with him, but he couldn't think of a reason why. Guy seemed like a nice sort.

The man noticed his gaze and reached behind his back. Arashi tensed, as if expecting him to pull out a weapon, but the man simply withdrew two large fans. He snapped open the fans, and written in large Kanji was the word "Success!".

"Looks like it worked! Told you it would, and don't you feel better? Sorry about the pain, but that was unavoidable. But, now, we must move on. Even though I have given you chakra coils and rebuilt your bodies and minds, you still have no chakra. All you have gained is the ability to carry it. So, our next job is to get you both powered up. But, never fear, I have a plan!" He tossed his fans away and sat down in midair, pulling out a couple of large grey pills from a pocket of his cargo pants.

Arashi eyed him doubtfully. "I can sense the power in those pills, and I'm pretty sure that they could be deadly. Are their bodies able to handle the amount of chakra those pills contain? And where the hell did you get it?" The stranger looked a little embarrassed as he was asked the questions, and he answered a little too quickly.

"Well, of course their bodies can handle them! Probably…" Arashi looked like he was gonna beat the guy into a pulp, but he held up a hand to forestall him. "However, I have the utmost confidence in these boys, and I'm sure they will not only contain the power, but still have room for more. The best part of it is that their chakra coils will grow as their chakra supply does. To a certain extent, of course. And as to where I got the chakra pills from, that's gonna be my little secret." He grinned widely, and flashed the man a thumbs-up. That pissed Arashi off a little, but he didn't do anything about it.

The stranger winked knowingly at them and flicked the pills at Arashi. He caught them both in one hand, and gazed at them intently for a moment. Light noticed that Arashi's eyes had gone from a blue to a almost a violet shade. _Huh. That's weird. Maybe that comes with the whole "ninja" thing._ Arashi stared at the pills for a long moment. Then blinked and relaxed, his eyes fading back to their normal azure hue.

"Ok, these things don't _look_ dangerous, but they sure do pack a punch. These aren't like any soldier pills I've seen before. Here, Light, catch." Arashi tossed the pills to Light, who caught them. Wincing a bit as his still bleeding hands protested the ill usage, he handed one over to Ryuzaki, who looked much recovered from earlier. Taking a moment to look closely at his pill, he noticed that it wasn't really grey, like he thought it was. They were a strange mixture of white and black, and the two colors seemed to swirl around each other, constantly changing the shade of the pill.

He was entranced for a moment by the never-ending motion, but he blinked and looked over at Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki seemed to still be lost in amazement, and his newly tawny eyes were focused intently at the abnormally large pill. Light reached over and tapped his shoulder softly. Ryuzaki blinked and looked up at him, his eyebrow lifting in curiosity.

"Are you ok, Ryuzaki? You looked kinda out of it." Ryuzaki shook his head slowly, trying to find the words to explain it properly.

"No, I'm fine, Light-kun. It's just… I got the strangest feeling when I saw it. Meh, it's probably nothing. So, do we have to take these things?" the question was directed the hated stranger, who chuckled and nodded. Ryuzaki turned back to Light and grimaced slightly. Light laughed for a moment; he remembered how much Ryuzaki hated taking pills without tea. He watched Ryuzaki gulp it down, and then popped his own into his mouth and swallowed.

For a moment, nothing happened. He could feel the pill going down his throat, and then nothing. But, then, he felt the oddest sensation. Like something was swelling, growing bigger and bigger in his chest. It didn't feel bad, in fact it felt almost invigorating. But then, as the feeling continued, it began to pressure him. It was like he was a water balloon, and the balloon was being filled with too much water and was stretching. It grew worse and worse, the pressure constantly increasing, and the pain rising with it.

But then the pain began dying away, and the pressure eased. The feeling that had gathered in his chest had dispersed, spreading through his body. That revitalizing sensation was back, and was coursing through his body. It felt good. No, it felt better than good, it was _amazing_. He'd never felt anything like this before.

He lifted his hand and gazed at it, and was surprised to see that the constant bleeding had stopped. In fact, the mangled tips of his fingers were already mending themselves, and he could practically see the muscle and skin knitting themselves back together. Then, as he began looking at the rest of his hand, he noticed that his hand was glowing. No, not just his hand, his entire body was surrounded by a blue aura. He felt an itching on his left forearm and saw that an old scar had almost entirely disappeared.

He shot a glance over at Ryuzaki, and noticed that he was undergoing similar effects. "Hey, what the hell were in those pills? Did you dope us or something, Grey-san?" The stranger chuckled at Light's new nickname for him, and shrugged expansively before bowing theatrically at him and Ryuzaki. Arashi growled a little and turned towards Light, obviously annoyed by the man's antics.

"Since that weirdo can't seem to explain anything, let me tell ya what they were. I did an analysis Jutsu on 'em, and they seem to be full of some kinda weird chakra. My guess is that he wanted to fill up those new chakra coils he gave ya, is that right?" His last question was directed at the gray-haired stranger, and he nodded.

"Among other things, but you seem to have caught the gist of it! Bravo, Hokage-kun, well done! However, your poor audience still seems to be "in the dark", as it were. Perhaps you could try once more?" He pointed over at Light and Ryuzaki, who were looking clueless.

_What the hell is "chakra"? And why does he keep calling that blond guy "Hokage"? _Ryuzaki was thinking the same general thoughts, and voiced them out loud.

(Arashi's PoV)

"Hey, Arashi-san, what did you mean when you talked about Chakra? And why does that guy keep calling you Hokage?" his jaw dropped as he stared at Ryuzaki, who had asked the last question he had been expecting. _What the hell? These guys don't know what chakra is? Damn, the last thing I need right now is to be stuck babysitting idiot kids._ Arashi groaned alout, bemoaning his fate.

"How the hell can you not know what Chakra is? It's the basis of our entire society! And how the hell can you not know me? I'm the goddamn Hokage! What country do you guys come from?" Light and Ryuzaki exchanged glances. Light turned back towards him.

"Um, Japan." Arashi was taken aback for a moment as he searched through his memories. _I don't remember any country called "Japan". Sounds like a stupid name for a country. At least "Fire Country" makes sense. Maybe it's in the west._ His thoughts were interrupted by Light asking him another question. "Ano, what country are you from?"

"Fire Country, of course! How else could I be Hokage?" He watched Ryuzaki and Light exchange glances, before Ryuzaki shook his head and tapped his temple. _Ok, that kid did NOT just call me crazy. I swear, I'm gonna shove that smartass head of his up his goddamn butt!_

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing? Dammit, what Shinobi village are you from? I want to know where to send your death certificates." He leaned towards them menacingly, cracking his knuckles. Light and Ryuzaki exchanged another look, this time in curiosity and amazement.

"What the hell do you mean, Shinobi village? I live in Tokyo, and there aren't any more shinobi. Well, not real ones, any. There's a few that like to pretend they're ninja's, but-" He was interrupted by a furious roar from Arashi, who seemed even angrier than before. Fortunately, the strange chose that moment to step forward in between them, holding a hand out towards both of them palm outward.

"Ok, ok, calm down. I know you're all wondering just what's going on, but, y'know, I don't have to explain. I mean, since you won't remember any of this anyways…" He snapped his fingers and jumped backwards, away from the others. He landed on top of the handle of his katana, which was still buried in that hole in space. He clapped his hands together sharply, and drew them apart slowly. As his hands drew farther and farther away from each other, the hole that his katana had cut grew wider and wider, until it was a jagged opening in space, roughly 15 feet tall and 8 feet wide.

He jumped off his katana and grasped the hilt, hefting the blade and resting it against his shoulder. He turned to face the shocked group, and laughed at their expressions. "Well, enjoy yourselves, my little helpers. Maybe we will meet again. Now, before you go…" He grasped his katana in both hands and swept it across the air in front of him. It left a trail of white and black energy swirling in the air behind it, which swept forward. In a heartbeat, it had swept through the bodies of the other three, who all stiffened and stood rigid, eyes unblinking.

He sheathed his katana once more and stepped forward, coming to a stop in front of Ryuzaki. Waving his hand in front of Ryuzaki's face a few times, he assured himself that they were indeed unconscious. He reached slowly into his left sleeve, and drew out an ivory throwing dagger. Taking this, he slashed it across Ryuzaki's eyes. However, the blade seemed to pass through his flesh, instead of tearing it apart. It left a white line across his eyes which faded after a moment. Then, reaching into his right coat sleeve, he drew out a jet black dagger, of the same make and build of the other.

Turning to Light, he threw the dagger sharply at his left hand. The dagger flashed darkly through the air, embedding itself into the center of Light's palm, quivering slightly. He walked over and withdrew it quickly, gazing at the palm. In the center of Light's hand, there was a jaggedly cut oval, dark as a moonless night. He examined it closely, turning the palm this way and that, before dropping it and stepping back, content with his handiwork. Then, he maneuvered them roughly towards the portal he had created, manipulating them with chakra strings as if they were puppets. He aligned them all side by side facing the portal, before cutting his threads and moving behind them. He set his left hand on Light's head and his right on Ryuzaki's head.

"If only you knew the kind of stuff I'm sentencing you to. I hope that one day, you'll both be able to forgive me. Well, use the abilities I've given you well, and don't fail me. Everything hangs in the balance. Take care of Arashi, he's going to be the most important ally you'll ever have. And remember, sometimes your greatest foe is also your best hope. Well, take care, you two." Sighing a little, he unceremoniously shoved them into the rift in space. As they disappeared, he turned to Arashi.

"Don't be so arrogant, ok? And don't take the loss of your wife too hard. Remember what you have left, and protect it. Cling to it with everything you have, and it'll be ok." He moved behind him and kicked Arashi's ass hard, sending him flying through the rift.

He turned around and waved his hand tiredly at the portal, closing it. _Man, that was kinda fun, but a little depressing. Those two are getting into a world of trouble, and I'm making them do it. Still, I hope that everything turns out alright. It was supposed to be only L that was summoned, after all. I hope this won't have any unpleasant side effects…_ He stretched a little, then reached into his coat and pulled out his bottle of sake. Popping the cork out, he took a sip and sighed in contentment, licking his lips clean of any lingering liquid.

"Well, gotta get back to the post. I _definitely_ don't want to miss what happens next. Things will get interesting from here on out…"

AN: So, now we see the characters start to develop. Things will definitely get more interesting in the next chapter, and I hope that you all read and enjoy. Please review, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Gaereth

Preview of Chapter 5:

The Kyuubi howled its pain, and closed its great crimson eyes in agony. Suddenly, a monstrous voice rang through their minds, ripping any coherent thoughts into shred. **_STOP, HUMANS! THE ENEMY IS THE…_** The voice was cut off by a guttural growl from the throat of the great beast. The crimson aura that had surrounded it had been constantly shifting its shade back and forth, and this time the color stayed its dull red color, the color of dried blood. It roared out in exquisite pain, and it eyes snapped open once more. However, something was happening to its eyes. They were great crimson orbs before, with slitted pupils and murderous intent.


	5. Chapter 5: Defiled

Chapter 5: Defiled

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Death Note.

_Italics_ Thoughts

**_Bold Italics_** Demonic Thoughts, primarily Kyuubi

"Regular Type´ Talking

**Bold Script** Demon talking, mainly Kyuubi.

(Ryuzaki's PoV)

He woke up slowly, blinking his eyes groggily. He was lying on a hard rocky surface, and he wasn't sure why. He thought back trying to remember how he got here, but he couldn't. In fact, he couldn't remember much of anything. Every time he tried to think of his past life, he drew a blank. He remembered all his learned stuff, like Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, and a bunch of others, but he couldn't remember where or why he'd learned them. Strangely enough, though, he wasn't too bothered by that. He was, however, bothered by that _insanely _loud noise. _I don't know what the hell that is, but it reminds me of an alarm clock. I always did hate those, I never saw the point. I just didn't sleep._

He got up slowly, shaking his head sleepily to try to clear away the last of his drowsiness. The noise was getting louder. _Dammit, they've pushed me too far._ He stood up straight, looking for the cause of this incredibly annoying noise. He didn't have to look far. There, maybe 2 miles off, was an _enormous_ red fox, with nine tails dancing in the moonlight. It was almost entrancing to watch those tails, weaving a never ending dance through the sky. It was an incredible sight, and he couldn't get enough of it.

However, as he heard the noise again, he looked away from the tails and at the rest of the giant Kitsune. He was startled as he observed it's behavior. It seemed to be in great pain, judging by the gnashing teeth and pain-filled howls of agony. He could see the fox rolling over on its back, clawing at the sky in rage, screaming out into the night its clarion call of defiance. However, there was something even odder about the air surrounding the fox. He was giving off a scarlet aura, but this aura was flickering between a bright, incandescent crimson and a dark, evil hue the color of old blood.

He backed away a little from the great fox. In doing so, he bumped into Light, who was is the process of getting up. After accidentally knocking both of them over, Ryuzaki mumbled apologetically at an annoyed Light, who was tenderly nursing a bruise on his head from where he hit the ground. He chuckled a little at the annoyed glare Light shot his way, before realizing something vital. He remembered Light.

He thought about it some more. Yes, he definitely remembered Light. His name, and his personality, but he couldn't remember his family history, or where he had lived. None of it, only what he knew about Light's personality, character, and talents remained. Thinking back once more, he realized that was all he remembered about his past. But he knew that he had a past. It was like his mind was a long hallway of locked doors, and the only open one was the one pertaining to Light.

"Oi, Light-kun, what do you remember about what happened before? Before we where here, I mean." Light seemed puzzled at the question, and started to answer quickly. But then, just as he started to speak, he snapped his mouth shut and thought hard. As he thought, his expression ranged from curious, to amazed, to frightened, then to incomprehension. He turned to Ryuzaki, obviously unable to understand it.

"I don't get it, Ryuzaki. Things I should know are missing, and I can't remember anything about my family history. All I really remember is some stuff that I learned, you, and that Arashi guy. Though all I remember about him was his name. Wonder where he is." Light settled down, obviously intent on solving this strange riddle. Ryuzaki, however, was busy thinking about possible causes for this sudden amnesia. As he thought, he felt something welling up inside him, almost like a repressed emotion bursting to be set free.

He was astonished by this feeling, and concentrated on it mentally. It was an enigma to him, and it felt alien to him. But, at the same time, it felt utterly and completely familiar. Puzzled by this, he began letting this feeling out little by little. The feeling spread quickly, flowing down all his arms and legs, and enveloping him in its warm glow. It was spectacular, and he enjoyed the feeling immensely. Glancing over at Light, he noticed that his friend had developed a blue aura. He was a little shocked, but then examined his own body, which also had its own azure glow. They looked at each other, too shocked to really question this phenomenon.

Just then, a flash of yellow burst into the clearing they were in, stopping abruptly next to them. The light died down and revealed their mysterious friend, Arashi. He knelt down next to them and examined them closely. After he was sure they had no serious injuries, he relaxed a bit. Which was when he noticed the strange blue glow surrounding them. He jumped back quickly, pointing at them in accusation.

"Hey, you two, what village are you from? You guys have more chakra than most Jounin I've seen, especially you." He said, shifting the focus of his stare to Light. Ryuzaki was astonished by this man's rude behavior, and proceeded to examine the man before him.

The man was tall, a few inches over six feet, and muscular. He had bright blonde hair that was grown long, but it was wild and seemed to stick out in every direction at once. His eyes were a bright blue, and were narrowed in suspicion. He was oddly dressed, wearing muddy sweatpants and a t-shirt soaked with sweat. Over it, he wore a great white cloak with flames embroidered at the bottom of the cloak. The flames were extremely well made, and they flickered and danced as his cloak fluttered in the slight wind. His coat looked suspiciously heavy in some places, where he obviously had hidden pockets.

However, the most striking about this man was his face. Ryuzaki had a habit of examining people and judging them by their face and, more importantly, their eyes. This man's face spoke of hell. His eyes seemed haunted by some inner demon, and his face was lined with the aftermath of recent grief and pain. Some tragedy must have befallen this poor soul, and Ryuzaki felt the annoyance at the man's rough behavior fading quickly. He lifted his hand to show that he held no weapon, and tried to reassure the man.

"Ano, I don't know. We can't seem to remember where we came from or why we are here. And, by the way, what do you mean when you say 'chakra' and 'Jounin'? Those terms are not familiar to me." His words seem to startle the man, and his eyes widened, then narrowed again, this time in disbelief.

"Yeah, right, and Orochimaru's not gay. Tell me the truth, you idiots, I don't have time for lies." He advanced on them, leaning down and staring into Ryuzaki's eyes. Ryuzaki was slightly angered by the man's behavior, but waived it on account of the trauma the man had undoubtedly gone through. It was obviously obscuring his judgement.

"I understand your skepticism, but I am telling you the truth. If you do not believe me that is not my concern." The man stared deeply into his eyes for a moment, then sighed and straightened.

"Your eyes tell me you speak truth. I apologize for my harsh behavior. However, you two are an enigma. Your chakra levels name you a shinobi, but any shinobi worth his salt should no better than to go up against the Kyuubi no Kitsune. You wear no Hitai-ate, and you have no gear. You are under no Genjutsu, though you seem to have something sealed off. And, on top of that, I feel like I know you. Maybe you could explain to me, briefly, why this is the case." He glanced at the distant fox, who had ceased his thrashing and now lay quietly, twitching every so often.

Suddenly, Light cried out "Arashi!" The blonde man jumped and turned towards Light, pulling out a kunai as he did.

"What? Why the hell'd you scream at me?" Light was to excited about something to respond properly, though. Ryuzaki, however, realized that this man was indeed the Arashi they had both been thinking of not long ago.

"You, I remember you. You called yourself the Yondaime Hokage. But how do I know that?" Arashi stared at him for a moment wide eyed, then shook his head and thought long and hard. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he seemed to realize something.

"Oh, you two! I know you! You're Light and Ryu… Ryub… Ryu-something. Y'know, I'll just call you Ryuu-san. But how the hell do I know your names?" He sat down and began pondering, ignoring the outraged protests of the newly christened "Ryuu-san" and the uproarious laughter of Light. However, he was not going to be able to think long.

A great roar echoed across the land, and the Kyuubi stood upright, its tails no longer thrashing. In fact, it was barely moving, and the eyes seemed to be shut. The scarlet aura dimmed and went out. As the roar died, the Kyuubi's head drooped. Arashi shot up, his face tensing in fear.

(Arashi PoV)

He stared off into the distance, stunned by the feel of the chakra the Kyuubi had now. It had gone from violent and fiery to something different, something that felt _vile_. He didn't know what had happened, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. He turned to his new companions, beckoning them to follow. He prepared the seals to the Shunshin no Jutsu, but remembered that he wasn't going to be able to do that, not if he wanted the other two to keep up.

"Follow me!" He cried out to them, and jogged off down the road. He thought that that should be a pace that they could follow easily, but was astonished when he saw them outpacing him, sprinting ahead of him. He upped his speed a few notches, and was soon slightly ahead of them. As they ran through the wrecked forest, he looked at them out of the corners of his eyes. They seemed shocked about their speed. _Interesting, _he thought to himself. _It seems that they got a lot of potential, and somehow their bodies are already strong and fast. They need a lot of practice, and they need to learn how to conserve stamina as you run, but other than that they seem exceptionally strong, compared to the average Chuunin._

He upped the pace little by little, and was startled as they kept pace. _Amazing. They're both sending chakra to their legs to aid the running, especially Ryuu-san. But they don't even know what chakra is. To have that much innate chakra control and to use it subconsciously… These two have incredible talent. If I live to see the dawn, I'm taking them back to Konoha. We need more good shinobis, especially after that damned war with Iwagakure._ He looked at the fox and was startled to see that they were already within half a mile of it and closing.

He decreased his speed, jogging to a stop and motioning to the others to do likewise. "Best if we stay back for now, until we know more about the situation. In the meantime, a crash course on chakra." Ryuu and Light leaned forward, listening intently. They were very interested in this chakra they kept hearing about.

"Basically, chakra is the energy produced by a fusion of your mental and physical energies. This energy can be used for shitloads of stuff, but right now all I want you to do is learn to focus it. This is a very basic technique, and both of you have enough chakra to keep it up for weeks. Now, hold out your hand, and feel for the chakra inside of you. Feel it flowing? Good. All chakra flows through your body, much like the blood that streams through your veins, except chakra flows through the chakra coils. There are two main chakra coils. The first main chakra coil are looped around some of your main organs, like your stomach, liver, all those lower ones. The secondary chakra coil is intertwined with your heart, and is vital for life. Don't let it get damaged, because you'll never recover." Light and Ryuu sat listening, nodding in understanding.

"Ok, now feel for the main focus of your chakra. Once you've found it, try to use the currents to make it flow into your right arm. Try and increase the amount of chakra you have gathered in your arm. If it hurts, don't worry, it's natural." Ryuu did as he said, and they both managed to generate an even brighter blue aura about their arm. Arashi nodded, quite surprised by their early achievement. But, then again, almost everything about these two was weird.

"Ok, right now, you both have a bit of an overdose of chakra, which is why you're body is glowing blue like that. Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It will go away as you use up the excess chakra. Eventually, you'll learn to store it into your secondary chakra coil until it's needed. But that's another lesson for another day. Ryuu, you seem to be quite talented in controlling your chakra, and you, Light, have more chakra than Ryuu. That's good, you both have extraordinary talent. Now, practice a bit with what I just showed ya, I need to check on the baka Kitsune. Don't worry, I'll come back later. And, no matter what happens, don't get involved."

He dug into his coat and pulled out a map, holding it out to them. "Here's a map, follow it to the Konoha Village if anything happens, ok? Tell them I sent you. If I don't show up within a day, tell them that I died fighting the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and that Jiraiya should take over. Don't worry, he'll know what to do." They nodded their consent and, after taking the map, he leaped away.

(Ryuzaki's PoV) AN: Don't worry, it'll be Light's turn soon!

Ryuzaki followed him with his eyes for a moment, before exchanging a significant look with Light. Light nodded at him in silent consent to the unsaid plan of action, and he nodded in return. He focused then, trying to shunt the current of chakra into his legs. If all went as Arashi said it would, then it would make him faster and stronger in his legs. Light was doing much the same thing as him.

After finally getting a good bit of chakra in his legs to reinforce his muscles, he nodded at Light. After a return nod, they both leaped into the destroyed forest towards the Kyuubi. The run was invigorating. They leaped high, landed without a scratch, ran much faster than they thought they ever could before, and barely felt it in their legs. Their reflexes were up, too, and Ryuzaki dodged a falling tree like he had barely even noticed it. Soon, they were close to the Kyuubi. Standing still, panting a bit from the exertion, they gazed at the huge fox, again awestruck by its size and power. Even now, when it was inactive and apparently asleep, it was still glorious to behold.

Looking down from the fox, they saw Arashi standing in front of it, holding his right hand out in front of him. Soon, they saw air swirling and gathering into his hand, forming a blue orb. Taking this, he leaped high into the air. They heard him cry out "Rasengan!" and he fell at the Kyuubi's forehead, bringing the orb to bear on it. For a moment, it seemed like his attack would hit the mark. Then the Kyuubi's eyes snapped open, and it reared backwards, opening wide its jaws as if to eat the airborne Hokage.

Arashi saw it coming, however, and twisted his body so that he landed on one of the giant teeth that rimmed the great beast's mouth. He slammed the blue orb into the base of the tooth he had landed on, before jumping off and landing gracefully on the ground. The orb he used had drilled its way through the huge tooth before he had jumped down, and the tooth followed him to the ground, landing point first into the earth.

The Kyuubi howled its pain, and closed its great crimson eyes in agony. Suddenly, a monstrous voice rang through their minds, ripping any coherent thoughts into shred. **_STOP, HUMANS! THE ENEMY IS THE…_** The voice was cut off by a guttural growl from the throat of the great beast. The crimson aura that had surrounded it had been constantly shifting its shade back and forth, and this time the color stayed its dull red color, the color of dried blood. It roared out in exquisite pain, and it eyes snapped open once more. However, something was happening to its eyes. They were great crimson orbs before, with slitted pupils and murderous intent.

The eyes began changing, the crimson color growing darker and darker, and the pupils went from slitted to oval. Soon, the eyes were the same dark, corrupted color as the chakra that now encircled it. Those evil orbs burned with an unholy fire, inspiring fear in Light and Ryuzaki. He was about to turn and run away, all thought of rescue or aid forgotten, when he felt Light's hand grasp his shoulder, roughly turning him towards the demon once more. He shot an angry glare at Light, but was taken aback as Light turned towards him, his eyes burning brightly in determination.

"Going somewhere, you damn coward? Arashi's over there, fighting for his life, and you're just gonna run? Get a grip on yourself! If you die, you die. But at least die like a man, rather than some dog who ran at the first sign of danger!" Ryuzaki opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he took a closer look at Light, who was quivering in fear. He had bitten through his lip in an effort to control it, and his eyes were wide in fright, but with determination as well. Ryuzaki hung his head, ashamed of his actions. _I'm not the only one who's afraid. Light's afraid, and I bet that Arashi-san is as well. How can I abandon my friends like that! Never again!_

He gritted his teeth in anger, and mindlessly dashed forward towards Arashi, channeling chakra through his legs and arms. Arashi saw him coming and motioned him away, but he ignored him and kept running, legs churning as he sprinted towards the fox. Using his newfound strength, he leaped high into the air and landing on the demon's giant head. Focusing as much chakra as he could into his right leg, he jumped into the air and came down on the kitsune's head with a powerful axe kick, driving the heel of his feet between the demon's great eyes.

The great beast reared back on its hind legs, shaking its head vigorously to toss the annoying human off its forehead. As it did so, though, Light charged at its left foot, and punched it with all his might. The demon swayed a little, losing some of its balance. Then Arashi appeared next to the fox's right paw and drove a Rasengan into it with force. The great fox lost its footing entirely, and fell to the ground on its back with a tremendous crash. The shockwave from its fall shook the earth around it, sending Arashi and Light reeling backwards.

Ryuzaki landed awkwardly a little ways off, stunned at what he had managed to do. _Holy. Shit. That was awesome!_ He felt like a little kid as he mentally cheered his victory, sure that the fox wouldn't get up for a while. However, his foot reminded him of the utter stupidity of kicking a giant fox when you're barefoot. He sat on the ground and howled out in pain, rubbing his heel in agony. He paused to take a breath before launching into another scream, but it was drowned out by a mighty roar from the fallen fox. He turned his head slowly, afraid of what he might see.

He saw the Kitsune rising up out of the crater its fall had made. It shook it head wildly for a moment, and the chakra flickered from the muddy red to a rich, vibrant color, and for a moment its eyes retook their former appearance. These eyes pierced through Ryuzaki's own, holding him spellbound. **_ NOT ENOUGH, MORTAL! _**The mental voice roared out in his head. **_STOP IT, QUICKLY! I, THE KYUUBI NO KITSUNE, IMPLORE YOU TO END THIS! NOW, OR IT WILL BE TOO LATE! _**As the psychic echoes died down, the Kyuubi laid his head on the ground, the eyes still staring into Ryuzaki's, pleading with him.

(Light's PoV)

He clutched his head in agony as the pain in his head flared. _Dammit, every time that things talks, it feels like it ripped my head apart. Shit, that hurts._ He staggered forward and glared at the fox, whose eyes were still fixed on the sitting form of his friend. He glanced over at Arashi and tilted his head towards the fox, quirking an eyebrow. Arashi shrugged and scowled at the fox, obviously trying to puzzle out the fox's words.

Light had to admit, they didn't make much sense. _What the hell does it mean, "stop it"? Stop what? Well, whatever "it" is, it probably has something to do with his weird habit of changing the color of his aura. And his eyes are different, too. This doesn't make much sense, but whatever. _He crouched down a little, preparing for a quick dash at the Kitsune. However, he stopped himself before he could start running, gazing in fear at the sight before him. Ryuzaki was walking right towards the thing, with his right hand outstretched towards it. Light cursed angrily, wondering what the hell his friend was up to. _Dammit, this is NOT the time to go around petting giant foxes!_

Ryuzaki continued walking to the fox, which just sat there, head on the earth, staring at him. Soon, Ryuzaki had reached the nose of the great beast, and hesitated for a moment. There was a high pitched noise, as if the thing was trying to whine. _Holy shit, that ain't normal. Didn't think foxes could do that!_ Light watched as Ryuzaki crouched down and leaped high into the air, landing softly on the fox's nose. Ryuzaki knelt down and laid a hand onto the nose, closing his eyes as if in thought.

For a long moment, nothing happened. But then, suddenly, Ryuzaki's hand glowed a bright white, and his eyes snapped open. Light gasped aloud as he saw the eyes of his friend. The tawny orbs had turned gold, and flickered with an inner fire as they gazed into the eyes of the demon. The hand that was covered in white chakra was raised once, and then was thrust into the nose of the great creature.

The fox howled in anguish, its eyes turning once more to the dull red of its corrupted state. Ryuzaki tensed his arm, then shoved his arm into the great demon's nose until it was buried to the shoulder. Then, as he screamed aloud in agony, there was a great white explosion, smoke filled the area, along with the pain-filled roar of the Kitsune.

When the smoke cleared away, it revealed Kyuubi, who was missing most of his lower jaw. It made a low guttural sound and thrashed its tails about. However, it didn't seem too badly injured, and was raising it's right forepaw, preparing to smash the cause of its pain into oblivion. Light gasped and prepared to rush forward to the aid of his friend, but was stopped by a sudden sharp pain in his left hand.

Clutching his hand to his chest, screaming, he fell to his knees, and watched through watering eyes as Arashi appeared in front of Ryuzaki to block the blow, but was swept out of the way by a sweep of the Kyuubi's tail. He saw the blow that would end his friend's life coming down, slowly, slowly…

Suddenly, he couldn't see anything. He was lying on his face is some kind of shallow pool, his clothes and body soaked. He got up slowly and looked around. He was in a darkly lit sewer with narrow walls and a low ceiling. It was basically a hallway that ran on endlessly to his left and his right, with openings on either side of the hallway. He glanced around slowly, blinking as his eyes gradually adapted to the dim lighting. _Ok, this is freaky. I don't know where I am, and I don't know how I got here, but I'd really like to go now._ He rubbed his hand nervously, remembering the pain he had felt just a moment ago.

Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from down the sewer. He backed away for a moment, frightened, then steeled himself and marched forward, glancing nervously left and right through openings as he passed them. After walking for a ways, the noise growing louder as he went, he came upon one opening that was covered by a strange curtain.

It was a veil of pure ebony, but it dripped blood, and the threshold of the door was dyed a dull red with the dried blood. He shuddered, and very carefully moved the thick drape aside and jumped over the bloody threshold. Once safely within, he let the curtain fall into place behind him and looked around.

It was a room of amazing size, so wide he couldn't even see the side walls, and there was a thick mantle of dark fog that coiled and drifted in the air not 3 feet above his head, obscuring his view. He stepped forward into the room, and each stepped echoed through the room. After he had walked a bit, he came upon an amazing sight, and he gasped and backed away quickly.

There was a huge cage in front of him. The bars to the cage shimmered with a white light, and connecting all the bars were scraps of paper. The word "Seal" was written on each piece in Kanji, and the marks glowed with a grey aura. He stepped closer to the cage until he was right up against it. He peered into the cage, looking for its inhabitant. He didn't have to look long, for a figure appeared in front of him. He couldn't quite make out what it looked like, thought, because of the terrible lighting. His eyes squinted, trying to see a little more clearly. Then the figure stepped forward into the Light, and he stood frozen in shock.

There, in front of him, was Yagami Light, a serene smile gracing his lips and an eyebrow raised. The imprisoned one stepped forward, coming right against the bars of the cage, and waved to him, his mouth opening into a cheerful grin. Light found the grin infectious, and he couldn't help feeling better as he grinned and waved as well. They both laughed good-naturedly for a moment, and then the one in the cage stretched out his left hand to Light.

Light looked at him for a moment, then at the bars of the cage. They didn't seem to be made out of anything solid, and he poked at them. Sure enough, his finger passed through the bars and back out. He glanced at his mirror image and grinned once more. _Surely, he doesn't mean any harm. He seems like a nice guy, with his debonair ways and ruggedly handsome good looks!_ He chuckled at the indirect compliment he gave himself and reached his left hand through the bars to clasp his mirror's hand in a friendly handshake.

Suddenly, his mirror's expression changed from a cheerful smile to a sadistic grin, and it squeezed his hand till the bone cracked. Light screamed out in pain and anger at being tricked and tried to put his other hand through the bars to pry his hand out of his mirror's hand. But it was to no avail, as the bars repelled any attempt he made. The pseudo-Light laughed maniacally at his efforts, and deftly snapped his wrist down, breaking Light's wrist. It chuckled in pleasure as it watched the screaming Light try to pull his hand out of his tormentor's grasp.

Light struggled again, looking up into his captor's face once more as he did so. Now he could see the eyes of the thing, and he cried out in shock. For instead of Light's own brown eyes, it had instead eyes of crimson red, streaked with black which lazily swirled through the crimson orbs. It chuckled as it saw that he had noticed it. He feebly tried to pull his hand out again, and its grin got even wider.

"**It's useless! Give up, you weak fool, you're no match for me! Is that really the best you can do, Boss?" **The imposter laughed loudly as Light's head snapped up and stared at him in disbelief.

"Huh? Why'd you call me boss, you damn fake? Let go of my hand!" He tried to wrench his hand free again, but was answered with a loud snap as his wrist broke again. The mirror-image grinned evilly at him, before grabbing Light's pinky and twisting it back against his hand, snapping it at the joint.

"**Ah, you see, there's that scream I love so much! Aren't you having fun, Boss?"** He looked at Light, who was groaning in pain. **"What, aren't you enjoying this? You should be, you know. After all, you made me!"** Light wearily lifted his head to stare blankly at his tormentor.

"Wh… What do you mean, I created you? I would never create something as annoying as you, asshole!" His focus was slipping, and his vision started to fade as he began fainting from the pain and shock. However, he was brought out of it by a loud snap and a sharp jab of pain that went through his hand. Screaming again, he looked over at his hand, which now portrayed the thumb bent backwards until it rested against the back of his hand.

"**No falling asleep on me, Boss! You may be in charge of this place, but that doesn't mean I can't take over! Just you wait and see!"** it cackled madly for a moment, before snapping another of Light's fingers. The pain was sharper each time, and this time it hurt so badly that Light couldn't even scream.

"Stop calling me that! I never made you! Go away! Leave me ALONE!" The last statement had been screamed out, and the mirror image seemed taken aback for a moment. Then it grinned widely.

"**Never made me, huh? I'm the product of your own dark deeds and soiled conscience, and you say that it ain't your fault? BULLSHIT!"** He snapped Light's two remaining finger's at once, then snapped all of them back into place. The sadistic grin had been replaced by an infuriated snarl.

Light groaned from the pain, but still had the strength to shout back. "SHUT UP! I'd NEVER do anything evil like that, never!" The pseudo-Light growled menacingly, a murderous glint shining in its evil eyes. Then, its expression cleared, and it almost smiled.

"**Yeah, right. Fine, you say that you would never do something like that, huh? Well, I'm gonna call your bluff."** Holding Light's wrist with its right hand, and pulled its left hand away and flexed it. As it tensed the muscles, claws slipped out from the ends of its fingers, bursting their way through its fingernails and skin, growing to a full six inches in length. It grinned evilly in sadistic pleasure once more and then, its red and black eyes glinting strangely, plunged his claws into the back of Light's hand.

Light screamed out in agony, as the pain that engulfed his hand was unlike anything he had ever felt before. His hand was enveloped in a black and red fire, and it was burning his hand away. His skin dripped away from his molten muscles, and his blood hissed and steamed as it was burned away. The pain grew and grew, until it felt like it would envelop him completely. Then, the pain went away.

Breathing hoarsely, he looked at his hand in fear. Where before had been a healthy and whole hand, now there was nothing more than a charred stump. His hand had been burned away, charred into ashes from the wrist down. He stared at in shock, his mind not accepting what it saw. _No way. My hand. It's gone. What the…_ He looked at the imposter with horror, hoping that it was all just some kind of joke. The fake saw his stare, and starting laughing crazily.

"**HAH! I bet that felt great, didn't it? It isn't over yet, Boss! No worries, the best is still to come!"** still laughing, it covered the stump of Light's arm with its left hand, still holding his arm with its other hand. Its hand flared evilly, and then it thrust its palm into the remnants of Light's arm, blazing with an unholy fire. Light saw the hand hit his numbed stub, and felt no pain. Then, he saw the hand begin to merge with his arm, and then the pain washed over him in great waves.

He couldn't see anything. His sight was gone as his eyes nearly burst from their socket, his body flailing wildly in agony. He convulsed and shook as each wave of pain swept through his body. He heard the thing laughing as he screamed and cried out, begging incoherently for mercy. Then, suddenly, the pain stopped. The pressure on his arm was released, and he pulled it wildly out of the cage, tears streaming down his face. He fell on all fours and vomited, his stomach revolting at the pain that had ravaged his body. His tears mixed with the foul remnants of his last meal, and he sobbed uncontrollably.

Suddenly, he realized just what position he was in. He was on his hands and knees, but he shouldn't have a left hand! He blinked tears out of his eyes as he raised his left arm and gazed at it, afraid at what he might see. He gasped and fell backwards on the floor, staring in horror at his hand.

His burnt and blackened stump had been replaced by a new hand, but this one was horrifyingly alien and vile. It was jet black, and had only three fingers and a thumb. At the tip of each of his fingers, large six inch claws gleamed darkly, their edges razor sharp. The hand itself was jagged and rough, his skin replaced by black scales. He stared at it in amazement and horror, and turned the palm of his hand towards his tear-stained face. The skin on it was as black as the scales, and it was leathery and tough with a large line creased through the middle of it. The line was strange, and it glowed with a crimson light. He stared at it a moment longer, then turned his gaze towards the thing in the cage.

It no longer appeared to be a mirror image of him. Now it was a vaguely human shaped collection of black mist, with two vapory wings stretching out behind it. Its crimson eyes blazed out in a show of contempt for him. His eyes were inexorably drawn to the creature's left hand, and he tensed. There, displayed openly, was his old hand. He looked at his new appendage, then at his old one his tormentor now sported. The thing laughed insanely.

"**Heh, seems you noticed the new hand I gave you. Don't worry, it won't be the last 'gift' I give you." **It chuckled, grinning sadistically as it examined its new hand. **"Well, I have to say, this is a pretty nice hand you let me have! Thanks ever so much, 'Boss'!" **it lifted its new hand to its lips and bit it, drinking the red blood that flowed from it. It smiled maniacally. **"Hmm, tasty. I think I'll like being in your body!"** Light watched it in growing horror.

_Somehow we switched hands! What the hell is going on? And why did he talk about being in my body?_ He stood up straight, flexing his new hand experimentally. "Oi, damn creature, how the hell did you get my hand? You burned it away!" He spat at the creature through the bars, scowling at it angrily. "Gimme back my damn hand, monster, or you're gonna be a puddle on the ground!" The creature put its head back and laughed louder than ever.

"**Excuse me? Did you just threaten ME? Hah, you're even dumber than I thought. You mean you haven't figured it out yet? Fool, I gave you some of my power. You should be thanking me on bended knee, not trying to threaten me with the few scraps of power I decided to give you! **Its voice grew angrier and angrier with each word, until it was biting the words out in fury. Suddenly, it relaxed, and bared its bestial fangs in a pseudo-smile. **"Well, soon you won't even exist. You're not even worth my time anymore. See you later"** It turned and started walking back into its prison.

Light tried to get through the bars once more, tried to chase after his tormentor, tried to beat the shit out of him. But the shining bars repelled him, and threw him back, away from the creature he sought to kill. He shouted after the fading figure "HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, BASTARD?!" the only reply, however, was a sudden thickening of the dark mist about him. Suddenly, countless eyes opened in the mist, staring at his with slitted red pupils, constantly gazing, never breaking the stare. He wrenched his gaze away from them, closing his eyes.

He panted slightly, and he felt exhausted all of a sudden. Suddenly, he got incredibly dizzy, and let his body relax onto the watery ground. But, after a moment, the ground opened up beneath him, and he fell. He kept falling down and down until he saw a bright white light approaching him. As he fell into it, he heard the laugh of the demon following him.

Suddenly, his vision returned, and he was standing on the ground, his left hand throbbing in tremendous pain. He looked around and saw Ryuzaki lying on the ground behind him, curled up and clasping his hand, looking at Light with something akin to fear in his eyes. Not thinking, he stretched out his left hand to help Ryuzaki up. Ryuzaki's tawny eyes widened in fear, and he moved away from Light. Light followed his gaze, looking down at his left hand. What he saw made him reel back in astonishment.

He still had the hand from before, black and scaly as ever. His hand was lit with black and red flame, and covered with scarlet blood. He wrenched his eyes away and looked for the Kyuubi. He saw it lying about twenty feet away. Or, at least, its remnants. It was missing its head. From the base of the neck up was gone, simply obliterated, its bleeding stump pouring the lifeblood of the beast onto the ground. He saw pieces of bone, brain, and long red hair scattered all over the surrounding area. He felt sick and brought up his left hand to cover his mouth. Before he did so, however, he happened to glance at the palm of his hand, from where the throbbing pain was coming from.

There, embedded into the palm of his hand, was a black eye, with a slitted red pupil gazing at him. In his mind, he heard the demon's laughter once more. **_What, did you think I'd leave you that easily? Tough luck, 'Boss', you're stuck with me!_** The eye widened and burned with the same fire that was still smoldering on his hand. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he allowed the blissful serenity of unconsciousness claim his mind. The last thing he heard was the roar of the creature's triumphant laughter…

AN: I wonder how many of you know where I'm going with this. You can e-mail me with any questions, and I'll try to answer them quickly. I'm still in need of someone who can speak Japanese to help me with translations for Jutsu later on. I hope you all like the story so far! Please, review! It keeps me going in the long midnight hours. XD

Gaereth

Preview of Chapter 6:

_Arashi blinked, dazed by the explosion. He looked about, wondering what had happened to those two kids. He hoped they hadn't gone and gotten themselves killed while he was busy. He got up slowly, feeling aches and pain all over his body from the multiple bruises the fox had given him. Speaking of foxes… He saw it, sprawled on the ground like some fallen monolith. Its bright red fur dripped with the darker red of its own blood, and it was missing its head. Arashi did a double-take and gaped at the critically injured demon, startled at the sheer amount of damage that had been done. There was something even more dangerous than the fox running around, and Arashi was very afraid of what that might mean._


End file.
